Today I was very glad to have swim through cage traps on an ADC job, not only for the capabilities of the traps, but for the safety factor, which allows for a good nights sleep. Arriving on site, a bounding golden retriever ran right up to me, tail wagging, couldn’t have been happier if he had common sense. We hit it off and I knew he would be with me until I was done setting. Familiar with the location I grabbed a pair of cages and headed to the channel, dog in tow. The retriever did what they do best, hit the water. Not a bit squeamish, he began digging out the old bank dens in earnest and soon was muddy and soaked. While I was putting the sets in place the dog swam up and down all of the channels, much like a beaver would. Swimming over the first set he grabbed the branch I had laid over the trap as if to make off with it.
In a few minutes I had 4 sets in place. In the past I would have been using 660 conibear traps, more difficult to place and definitely more dangerous. After watching that dog go in and out of the water, up and down the channels, it was a great feeling to be using benign traps, peace of mind in knowing there are no traps safer to use around pets and kids.
