While I feel bad for the dog, is there positive proof that the dog was actually caught in a leg hold trap and the dog was able to remove herself from the trap with her teeth?
Just the obvious physical trauma on the dog's leg.........I can't imagine any other way the dog's leg ended up as it did but I'm sure you'll come up with something.
Apparently the dog had been seen by local families in the area; they were leaving food out for her. They know if there are traps around...and her injuries are pretty obvious...go take a look at the Facebook page in the link for a nice close-up. She likely tried to get the trap open, but ended up pulling her foot out of it, since there is nothing left but bones; her tongue and mouth were ulcerated from attempting to lick a frozen steel trap.
Thankfully, she ended up finding help from someone who decided not to joyfully put a bullet in her head.
Trapped here in West TX for many years and over that period I caught 3 dogs, I was able to remove the traps with little to no damage other than a sore foot. I trapped for coyotes, fox and bobcats and used leg hold traps for all. The law requires us to check traps daily, had that one been checked most likely it could have been removed with far less damage. Dogs have a tendency to just lay down when trapped and won’t fight it for a while, unlike the others. The dog still has it’s foot and will recover, had it been a snare type trap it would have died a slow death.
Who ever abandoned the dog is the guilty party, not the trap or the trapper.