Woman calls for change after her dog steps in trap placed along Raccoon Creek State Park trail

A woman in Beaver County reached out to Channel 11 after her dog stepped on an animal trap along a local park trail last week.

Valerie Plummer said she takes her three dogs to Raccoon Creek State Park weekly. Last Monday, they were about a mile up a trail when her dog’s paw got caught in a trap.

“It just so happened we were walking back — and I was where I was supposed to be. Thought it was safe. My dog stopped to sniff. She found the trap and it snapped and shut on her paw. She freaked out,” Plummer said.

Her dog Shiloh broke several teeth trying to get her paw out and then bit Valerie’s arm because she was in pain. The assistant park manager said the park is a hunting area and it was a legal trap someone placed there.

“When I spoke with the ranger, I said ‘what is a trap doing here?’ I was told it is trapping season,” Plummer said.

Plummer is demanding change because she doesn’t want this to happen again.

“These types of traps are buried. You would never know. I want rules and regulations to be changed so it’s X amount of feet from a trail, signage at the trail letting people know,” Plummer said. “So many people frequent these parks. Public safety is preached, and I don’t think public safety is taken seriously because that should have ever happened.”

Plummer said going forward, she’s no longer walking her dogs at Raccoon Creek.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2025 Cox Media Group