Snowy Adventure At Whiskey Flats - Part 2

The dogs and I were exploring a logging road in Whiskey Flats State Forest and had been forced to turn around when our trail ended (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). It was plenty cold and snowy anyway, so I was OK with turning back:

The logging road was old and filling up with Scotch Pine saplings. The dogs just bounced around between them without a care:

Jack and Fergus love to run, and you can see Fergus on the right in this picture, running so fast that his ears were flopping:

We took a secondary logging road which was parallel to the first one, but it was nearly identical, so it provided no new scenery. Jack continued to run full speed:

Even Seamus did some running:

There were some nice pine forests all around us but I was in no mood to set off through the trees without a trail. Instead, I stuck to the logging road:

The dogs ran for awhile and then split up to investigate interesting smells and pee on pine saplings:

Almost back to the power line clearing, I figured it had been a short but worthwhile hike:

My merry band of misfit dogs were having the time of their lives:

Before returning to our car, I decided to follow the power line clearing to look for the trail I'd been unable to find when we began, so off we went - with Jack running on ahead as he usually does:

And that's when the crisis happened. I heard some animal screaming and saw, up ahead, what looked like Jack killing some small animal. I hollered and hurried to get there, only to find my little Jack with his leg in a steel trap. Lest you wonder why I took the time to snap a picture, I already had the camera out and ready. Also, I figured I might need evidence in case of legal action. I pulled off my gloves and tried to open the trap, but a terror stricken Jack bit me hard. I put the gloves back on and opened the trap, but by then Jack understood that I was there to help him. As you can see, the trap was set next to a Woodchuck hole. I tried to remove the trap to throw it away, but it was firmly anchored to the frozen ground and I was in a hurry to get Jack to the vet:

We returned to the car and hurried back home so I could call the vet. After examining him, the vet said no bones were broken and Jack should be fine. He gave me antibiotic and pain killer pills to help him through the coming week, but by that evening Jack was walking normally and apparently had forgotten all about his harrowing ordeal. One never knows when a pleasant hike can turn to crisis: