Accomplishing a lifelong dream, I escaped the fast lane of the city and headed north to the McGregor area 11 years ago. My objectives were simple: to purchase a home and own man’s best friend. I wound up with three: a Labrador named Alley who now is 11 years old, a 3-year old Brittany named Lucky, and her offspring, Sassy. Yes, I had found peace and serenity in the north country, until Nov. 1.

As we began our usual morning walk on the Soo Line recreational trail that runs parallel to my property, I noticed that Lucky had disappeared. I searched the entire day to no avail. At dusk, I decided to search one final time in the hope that Alley would find her. I suddenly turned to my right and noticed that Alley was less than six inches away from setting off a trap that would have crushed her head. Thirty feet away, I saw my precious pet. Her head was grotesquely twisted in a conabear trap designed for mostly racoons, and the cable attached to the tree around her neck indicated a slow, inhumane, painful death.

After removing her lifeless body from the trap with a wire cutter, I contacted the Department of Natural Resources. Officers arrived the next day. After explaining the circumstances, the DNR officers removed Lucky from the trap. It took two fully trained officers an astonishing four minutes to removed the trap from Lucky’s crushed skull. I also learned to my anguish a mere inch off a county road, Soo Line trail or state property, a trap could be set.

It occurred to me later that day that it could have been a child caught in that trap. My neighbor’s property is less than 50 feet away from the area where this trapping is legal. They have two children and many friends, nephews and nieces who visit often. I learned that if there were a dozen residential homes or 100, it would be legal for these traps to be set and extremely dangerous to children and pets alike. When I carried Lucky back to my car, I promised my beautiful 30-pound companion that her life would not be in vain. These laws must be modified before other pets or children face the same fate as my Lucky. Times have changed and there are more people living in areas right next to these debilitating traps than there were over a hundred years ago when, most likely these laws were initiated.

I would also like to state that the two DNR officers that came out to my home were very professional, kind and understanding. These two individuals do not make the laws. They merely enforce the outdated laws that are still in place.

Jeff Hoffman

McGregor