Authorities probing dog's death in trap

An incident involving a dog that wandered into a neighbor's yard and died after stepping into an animal trap was being investigated by Animal Service officers from Salt Lake County and Sandy, according to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.

On Wednesday, a dog that lived near 800 East and 8600 South wandered into a neighbor's yard, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson. The neighbor had set four traps in his yard, three of them spring bar traps designed to kill an animal instantly, one of them in a tree. The neighbor told officials he set them because he had a raccoon problem, Hutson said.

The dog stepped into one of the traps and was killed. The dog's owner told authorities that the neighbor had stated previously that if their dog, who reportedly had wandered into his yard in the past, came onto his property again it would "disappear," Hutson said.

As of Friday, no one had been charged with a crime. The trap and the dog were taken by Salt Lake County Animal Services as part of their investigation. A call to Animal Services Friday by the Deseret News was not returned.

Humane Society executive director Gene Baierschmidt said trapping animals in a residential area, even if it is on private property, was a misdemeanor crime unless the homeowner had received special permission. Such traps pose a danger not only to animals that the trap was not intended for; Baierschmidt pointed out the danger posed to a child who wandered into the yard.

The Humane Society was looking into the incident Friday. Baierschmidt also said that pet owners must not let their animals run without supervision.

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