1/17/2020
A Sunday stroll turned scary for a pup named Sully after a trap snapped on his paw while he was climbing back onto the banks of the Conodoguinet Creek during a walk with his owner in Hidden Creek Park.
“It’s a small, about hand-size trap. I’m not a trap expert, but it looks like it’s for a small animal,” said Silver Spring Township Police Chief Christopher Raubenstine said.
Luckily, Sully isn’t exactly small and didn’t break anything from the trap, but a trap at all triggers worry.
“Our concern, obviously, is for everyone’s safety, whether they’re four legs or two,” Raubenstine said.
The township spent the next couple days on paw patrol, sweeping the park and found no other traps — just more questions about how it got there.
“This could be anything from a simple mistake to what they think is legitimate, to somebody with malicious thought,” Raubenstine said.
Despite the why, trapping is still not legal on public property. Traps have to be registered, which would have led to the offender immediately but the evidence was washed away.
“A passerby helped the owner free the dog and out of anger, disgust — whatever — threw the trap out of the creek,” Raubenstine said.
Whether it was an honest mistake or demented deed, police are monitoring the situation.
“We just want to make sure it’s a one and done thing, and we don’t have to worry about it again,” Raubenstine said.
If you have any information about how the or why the trap was placed, you’re asked to call Silver Spring’s non-emergency line at (717) 697-0607.