
EMERY COUNTY, Utah (KUTV) — A pair of tourists have been working to keep a group of dogs dumped in the desert alive, while a trapper makes plans to rescue them.
The couple from Oregon said they noticed 13 dogs dumped in the San Rafael Swell in Emery County last Wednesday.
They’ve been giving them food and water and catching as many as they can, and are now waiting for help to catch the rest.
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Between them and the sheriff’s office, eight of the dogs have been caught. Including the mom, whom they caught this Wednesday.
“Dogs get dumped in this area quite often,” said dog trapper Trisha Anderson.
Anderson runs “Trusted Trappers” and has worked on dogs who go missing or are dumped in the swell.
“I’m hearing from people in the area, the shelter, that it’s an issue,” she said.
She said the tourists were the right people to come across the dogs and have been doing everything right to help them.
“They’ve been doing awesome,” she said.
Anderson said she’s getting ready to head out there on Friday to help catch the rest.
But she said with each caught dog, the task only gets harder.
“The last few dogs are usually the toughest to get,” Anderson said. “Because they see everyone else get captured. They’re typically the most skittish already.”
Anderson showed 2News a few missing dog posters. They were brightly colored, had a picture of a dog with “do not chase,” and a phone number written on it.
The dog on the poster is named “Kona,” and he also went missing in the swell.
Anderson said the posters are examples of how people can help, because even if someone has the best intentions, they could end up doing more harm than good.
“You can chase a dog and get the dog, but it’s a really high risk,” she said. “You run the risk of running them out of the area they just figured was safe for them, and now they have to start all over again.”
Anderson said people can still help by adopting the dogs because the shelter is full.
She’s going to be out there all weekend, but she said it usually takes that long just to catch one dog. So she’s hoping she can get them all quickly.
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