Roseland boy helps save trapped dog

Jan. 29 started off as a normal Sunday afternoon for Jackson Bell, 9, of Roseland.

He put his coat on and headed out to the car around dusk to go hunting with his dad.

That’s when he heard someone yelling for help.

Bell ran inside, got his parents and the family set off in search of the woman in trouble.

They found their neighbor, Nancy Welker, 77, sitting alongside her dog, Nutmeg, whose paw was caught in a groundhog trap on East Branch Loop, a trail Welker and Nutmeg often walk. Welker was holding the dog still so it would not fight the trap and break its leg.

“I thought it was futility personified,” Welker said about calling for help, which she had been doing for at least 30 minutes before the Bells arrived. She was located a couple hundred yards from the road and was not visible to passing cars, she said.

Laurie Bell left her husband and son with Nutmeg and Welker while she drove to get Welker’s husband to release the trap.

He was able to remove the dog’s paw safely, without any broken bones.

“This was several people endeavoring to do a good thing,” Welker said.

Nutmeg is a five-year-old long-haired mixed-breed dog and resembles a German shepherd.

When Jackson Bell saw Nutmeg in the trap, he said he was distressed for the dog.

“I felt sad because the dog had been trapped for maybe an hour,” he said.

Nancy Welker said she was thankful Jackson heard her cries and was impressed by his actions to assist her.

Jackson said he was happy he could assist his neighbors.

“I was glad I heard it,” he said. “I was glad to help them. It was kind of getting dark.”

The Bells have two dogs of their own — Jake, a Jack Russell, and Tay, a bulldog. Jackson said there has been a dog in his house as long as he can remember.

“If it was one of my own dogs, I would feel mad that someone set a trap somewhere,” he said.

Welker and Nutmeg visited Jackson and his classmates at Tye River Elementary School a few days after the incident to show their appreciation. She also brought in a similar trap and taught the students a little about trapping. The original trap was left where they found it because it belongs to someone, Welker said.

“We emphasized that trapping is legal and my getting in the trap was accidental,” she said. “It was set, as many traps are set around the county, for wild animals for food. This was not a menacing thing. It was normal.”

She said she plans to walk the route again.

Welker said it was nice to come to school with Nutmeg because Bell deserved recognition for hearing her cries and then getting help from his parents.

Greg Hill, the principal of Tye River Elementary School, said he was proud of Bell’s actions.

“It showed great character on his part, which is something we’re trying to instill in all of our students,” he said. “He set a good example of being a community helper. He was thinking beyond himself.”