Animal 411

Two New Canaan Dogs Under 45-Day Quarantine After Killing Raccoon

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Two Rocky Brook Road dogs are under a 45-day home quarantine following after an apparent skirmish with a raccoon that resulted in the wild animal being killed, officials say. A homeowner had been aware that her coonhound and boxer, both mixed-breed dogs, had come upon a young raccoon in her yard on the night of June 14, according to a police report. The raccoon had been cornered on the property and, the next morning, the homeowner found the animal dead in the yard, the report said. Though the dogs, both up-to-date on their rabies shots, had been in contact with the raccoon, the state no longer automatically tests wildlife such as raccoons when they have direct contact with domestic animals. Under new testing requirements published in April by the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the state laboratory also no longer tests bats submitted by nuisance wildlife control operators, small rodents such as mice, rats and chipmunks, or rabbits.

Government

Town Approves $10,000 for Mosquito Management; Selectmen Discuss Zika Virus

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New Canaan likely would work with neighboring communities under the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s guidelines if the Zika virus ever turns up in mosquitoes in the region, town officials said. No locally acquired cases have been reported to the DPH since the agency launched a surveillance program in February, according to the state. And “at this point in time, there has not been a mosquito that lives and breathes in Connecticut that can transmit the Zika virus or contain the Zika virus,” according to John Howe, parks superintendent with the New Canaan Department of Public Works. “They [the Zika-carrying mosquitoes] are getting closer and there have to be some changes in the lifecycle for that to happen,” Howe told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held June 14 at Town Hall. The comments—prompted by an inquiry by Selectman Nick Williams—came as the selectmen approved a $9,960 contract with Branford-based All Habitat Services LLC to apply an insecticide called ‘Spheratax’ to storm drains as part of New Canaan’s regular, annual mosquito management program.