Abandoned dog loses leg from coyote trap on Detroit's east side

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Last week, a young lab mix was found here along Gratiot in Detroit - she was seen wandering around with a mangled for days after she broke free from a coyote trap. 

"Things like this are never the answer," said Kristina Rinaldi, Detroit Dog Rescue. "Because as we can see, other animals or other children can get hurt."

Detroit Dog Rescue sees what happened to Grace a few times a year.

"This is not the first time we have seen something like this," Rinaldi said. "Her wounds indicated that her paw had been stuck in some type of hunting trap.

Rinaldi, the director of DDR, says people use traps like this one around their property, to catch not only coyotes, but to keep stray dogs away too.

"A lot of people they have outdoor dogs or dogs that roam in the yard that might not be fenced in all the way so they put these traps out to protect their dogs who may be tethered in the yard," she said.

Grace somehow freed herself from a trap and was limping along Gratiot - when they found her, her front leg was mostly dead tissue. 

"She had a pretty bad infection so we knew we had to get it off," said Dr. Michael Hood. "We didn't have an option to treat it."

Hood, of the Greenfield Animal Hospital, says she got into their care just in time. 

"She was really kind of shut down and wouldn't interact with anybody," he said. "Really only a couple days after surgery she realized we were helping and has been sweet ever since."

She's having some balance issues getting used to three paws but eventually won't have limitations…they're hoping to place the pup with a medical foster who can care for her wounds while she heals.

"She's going to stay about this small," Rinaldi said. "She's a lab mix and very smart and as you can see she loves treats."

Unfortunately, Kristina doesn't know how Grace got loose or where the trap was set - to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"If anybody knows anything we would love to find out so we can educate neighbors properly," she said. "This is not what you should do when you see stray dogs or when you see coyotes."

Detroit Dog Rescue is always looking for families to adopt and foster their animals. 

CONTACT: DDR online at detroitdogrescue.com or on Facebook here: facebook.com/detroitdogrescue