‘Free the Shelters’: New Canaan Woman Steps Up To Pay All Adoption Fees at Stamford Animal Control Shelter through Jan. 14

Cathy Kangas was at a wedding in Palm Beach, Fla. early last month when, after seeing a photo on Facebook, the New Canaan resident had what she calls “a complete meltdown.”

One of her friends had shared a photo of a beagle picked up as a stray at Stamford Animal Control that looked exactly like Ladybug, the little dog Kangas had rescued in 2016. “My god, we love and trust our dog sitter and I thought, how could Ladybug have gotten out?” Kangas recalled. “I quickly called everyone, including [New Canaan Animal Control Officer] Allyson Halm, asking could she have got out and walked to Stamford?”

Her fears soon were calmed, as Ladybug, Kangas’s babysitter assured her, was safe and happy at home. But the image of the roaming dog didn’t leave Kangas, who followed up on returning to New Canaan with Stamford Animal Control.