CASPER, Wyo. — After an eight-day-long effort to trap and rescue Nola, a Shar Pei that broke out of a cabin on Casper Mountain and started a solo experience, the owners and trapping organizers are now looking for methods to make sure there are more resources for dog saves in the future.
The day Nola got away the Littrell’s cabin on Casper Mountain was the very first time she had actually existed. She and her family originated from their home in Denver to spend a long time as a family, and after a complete day of treking and family enjoyable, her owners required to go to town for materials. The Littrells left a couple of windows split so Nola and their other dog had some fresh air, and they made their method to town.
Unbeknownst to Kelly Littrell, Nola’s owner, a window 4–5 feet off the ground offered an opportunity of escape for the stressed-out dog.
“When we went into the cabin and looked, one dog was there and she was nowhere to be found. She had moved a chair — she scooted it across the room — and behind the chair was an old antique radio and on top of the radio was my son’s laptop,” Littrell said. “So she had kind of created her own stair pathway to that window. She jumped out of it. We were shocked. We thought for sure she was injured.”
And so started the chase to rescue Nola. Littrell confessed that she and her family had no concept what to do because scenario, and it being a Saturday night on Casper Mountain, resources were restricted. Reaching out for help on Facebook was her only option.
“I just started posting on the Facebook page more and more, and people were reaching out, people started coming out and hiking the land — hiking the area,” Littrell said.
Eventually, Littrell began inquiring about traps. This is how she can be found in contact with Shannan Morris.
“I didn’t know what to do. I’ve never trapped a dog; I’ve never even seen a trap in my life,” Littrell said. “I had called and asked to see if anyone could lend a trap and that time is when I met this really nice gal on Facebook named Shannan — she was following our post and apparently she does trapping.”
Trapping Nola
Shannan Morris has actually been recreationally trapping dogs for a variety of years and began using the Littrells recommendations on Facebook prior to heading out and assisting personally.
Morris said the very first and most typical error individuals make in attempting to get their dogs back is attempting to go after and call out for their dogs. If they got away, they’re most likely under a great deal of tension, and being screamed out and chased after substances that worry even more. Especially for an extremely skittish dog like Nola, it would take a lot more than calling out her name and hoping she’ll crawl into a box trap.
A missy trap, an open-ground trap made typically from kennels and triggered by a pressure plate or sheave, would be the very best bet for Nola. Morris needed to arrange with Jen Baxter, a trapper from Gillette who had actually simply made one, to bring it down to Casper.
“Within 10 to 15 minutes of the missy trap being up, she started exploring it immediately, which is huge,” Morris said.
But to really trap Nola, Morris needed to depend on what just the Littrells might learn about the dog.
“Nola is the only dog I’ve ever known that would not eat steak. She didn’t care about steak, she didn’t even smell the steak. But thankfully, her family knew that she loved cheese,” Morris said, “so we modified the trap to have almost like a pressure plate versus a pull string. And with the pressure plate, they mashed cheese into it. And it worked! She went into it and she tried to get the cheese on that tray and it activated the magnet which slammed the door shut.”
After 8 days of experimental trap setting, cam work, concept tossing, and back-and-forth journeys in between Denver and Casper, the Littrells got Nola back. Without the help of individuals of Casper, Littrell said she doesn’t believe Nola would be home.
“The people of Casper are a lot different than most people are. Most people would not dedicate so much time and come out. I mean, there were dozens and dozens that took the time to come out and hike, or grab supplies or come up and leave food and water for her in case she came to their deck,” Littrell said. “It just gives you faith — there are good people out there. And Casper has a community I have never seen.”
And after such a traumatic experience, Littrell and Morris have actually taken stock of what the Casper trapping neighborhood requires to make certain future events in which a dog goes missing out on are less difficult and quicker fixed.
Efforts to arrange
Morris firmly insisted that she isn’t a professional, however rather an individual with a great deal of dog trapping experience. She said that that’s part of the issue: There are no specialists here. She can provide as much recommendations as possible, however arranging a total system of dog trapping will take a great deal of volunteers, resources and help from dog owners.
“I think just getting information out there on dos and don’ts will help a ton,” Morris said. “Every single dog is different, every single case is different, and every single dog that I’ve trapped or tried to trap is different; no two are the same.”
Cameras, box traps and food are essential resources that made saving Nola possible, however Littrell said the Shar Pei wouldn’t be here without Baxter’s missy trap which Casper requires one.
“Casper can’t rely on one person coming three hours one way to set up a trap; it needs its own missy trap and it needs its own volunteers to help trap. It can’t just be done with one volunteer, which is Shannan. There needs to be a community of people committed,” Littrell said.
With or without the missy trap, Morris said that having actually devoted and trained volunteers would make it so that, if a single person is not available to help trap, others can get the slack. In the middle of attempting to trap Nola, Morris was likewise in the procedure of getting ready for her wedding event and compromised a great deal of time to help reunite Nola with her owners. She likewise confessed that she isn’t a professional, however drawing in specialists from out of town to inform through training sessions or webinars would likewise enhance the focus of lessons.
“The Casper community would heavily benefit from having more trained people, like a group of us who would, when a dog like Nola comes up, the first person to see it adds it to our group and says, ‘Alright, here’s the dog, here are the details,’ and we can work out a game plan,” Morris said. “We’d have someone who’s a point of contact for the family if there is a family.”
She likewise pointed out the requirement to frequently examine cams, examine traps and restock food as the reason that having more volunteers is crucial. In Nola’s case, the Littrells neighbored and might get to the trap in time to make certain she didn’t hurt herself while attempting to get away. When they needed to go back to Denver for a day, the trap couldn’t be triggered due to the fact that nobody might remain nearby to view and a day was squandered. Having a minimum of one volunteer at a time to keep track of traps might have saved that day.
Littrell said that getting a business to contribute or crowdfunding cams together with having volunteers and the missy trap would alter the trapping video game entirely in the Casper location. She likewise said these resources are specifically essential for the Casper Mountain neighborhood, where most resources are thirty minutes or more away and the existence of wildlife puts lost animals at threat.
Finally, devotion from the owner needs to go hand in hand with help from volunteers and gotten resources.
“The owner can’t just say, ‘Hey, set the missy trap up and I’m gonna hang out and watch TV.’ They have to actively be trying different things too. Nola was different than almost any other dog they trapped and they were still successful in trapping her,” Littrell said. “What does that show you? It shows you that commitment, dedication, and then the trappers, Jen and Shannan, being willing to say, ‘Hey, let’s try this,’ and working together. It’s all about working together.”
And together, with the combined efforts of volunteers, owners and donors, Casper might be getting in a more enthusiastic period for animal owners.
Morris and Littrell do not presently have a devoted Facebook page or not-for-profit established, however are preparing to have a devoted page for arranging in the future. For more info on Nola’s story, see the post on the Casper Mountain Landowners Association Facebook page.
