Alison Sinclair was walking Honey in Frasers Gully on Wednesday afternoon when her dog - despite much calling - failed to return to her after fossicking around in the bush.
It was not until about 4.30pm on Thursday that she found Honey, who she called her ''best mate'', caught in a gin trap.
Given her pet's age, she was lucky to survive with only bruising and cuts to her paw, Ms Sinclair said.
''I was expecting to find a body.''
She was keen to warn other dog owners about the risks of illegal traps and her message to those setting the traps was to ''think about what you are doing ... and the damage it causes''
The incident came after she and her friend Mike Teasdale had removed traps from the area three weeks before. She had also heard of another dog breaking its leg after it got caught in a trap in the gully.
She had been amazed at the response from the community after her dog was lost, with seven people helping look for her.
Dunedin City Council parks and reserves manager Lisa Wheeler said the council had informed police after being made aware of the traps.
Her team was also working with animal control to try to find out who set the traps, which were probably set to catch possums for their furs.
Because setting traps in public areas was illegal, those setting them could be prosecuted. SPCA Otago inspector Julie Richardson said the traps were ''inhumane'' and inflicted ''terrible injuries and pain''.
''It was just so lucky that the owner was able to locate their dog and get it to the vet,'' she said.
SPCA was running an amnesty and people with both illegal and legal traps could bring them in and have them destroyed.
