Animal 411

NCPD Animal Control: Be Mindful of Dogs Amid Fireworks, Excessive Heat [Q&A]

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With dangerously high temperatures arriving this week and fireworks expected through Fourth of July weekend, the head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section is urging dog owners to be mindful of their pets’ safety. We put some questions to Officer Sean Godejohn as temperatures soared into the mid-90s Wednesday afternoon. 

Here’s our exchange. ***

New Canaanite: The Fourth of July is almost here and it’s the nation’s 250th, so we may have additional fireworks displays going on. What would you say to dog owners about this time of year regarding their pets’ safety? Officer Sean Godejohn: In regards to the fireworks, dog owners should assume that themselves and their dogs will hear fireworks at some point on Friday or Saturday.

Animal 411

New Canaan Dog Bites Local Woman

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A local dog is undergoing a 10-day quarantine after biting its owner’s girlfriend during a walk in New Canaan, police records show. The dog—a brindle male Dutch shepherd type canine—bit the woman after becoming “reactive against another dog” during a walk on June 5 (a Friday), according to a case report filed by Officer Sean Godejohn, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. Godejohn traveled to the New Canaan Fire Department to respond to the dog bite report. There, the victim already was in an ambulance being treated for the bite while “a bystander was holding the dog on leash” for her, he said in the case report, obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. “This officer took the dog immediately from the bystander once this officer established that she was not the dog owner,” the report said.

News

‘Stay Away from Wildlife’: Animal Control Issues Warning as Summer Nears

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As summer nears, New Canaan residents should be aware of wildlife that emerges in the warmer weather, officials say. 

Officer Sean Godejohn, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section, noted that the town has “coyotes, bobcats, deer and the occasional bear.” “Those animals should be reported to my office if seen,” Godejohn said. According to the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, pet owners should be aware of coyotes as they can be not only a danger to children, but also dogs and cats. Residents should take precautions, Godejohn said. “Stay away from wildlife,” he said.

Animal 411

New Canaan Woman Fined After Her Dog Bites Neighbor

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Police last month cited a New Canaan woman for nuisance dog after her golden retriever mixed-breed dog bit a girl on her left hand, records show. At about 4:15 p.m. on April 20 (Monday), the Old Studio Road dog, a 7-year-old named ‘Zoey,’ “came to attack” a neighbor’s dog, the victim dog’s owner told police, according to a case report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. 

The girl was bit while trying to separate the attacking dog from her own, an 8-year-old poodle mix type dog named ‘Ollie,’ according to the report, filed by Officer Sean Godejohn, head of the NCPD Animal Control section. She went to urgent care to tend to her hand injury, it said. 

Police contacted the attacking dog’s owner the next day, and she “admitted to this officer that her dog did bite [the girl].” The victim dog’s owner told Godejohn that she wasn’t sure whether Ollie also was injured. 

Both animals involved are up-to-date on their vaccinations, the report said. The infraction-level nuisance dog offense carries a fine of up to $100. Zoey also was quarantined at home for a 10-day period that ended April 30, the report said.

Animal 411

Labrador Retriever ‘Maxine’ Bites Dog at Spencer’s Run

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A New Canaan dog underwent a 10-day home quarantine this month after she bit an older canine at Spencer’s Run, records show. On March 31 (a Tuesday), the victim dog’s owner contacted the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section saying that her 12-year-old Chow Chow-mix dog had been bit on the ear at the dog park in Waveny, according to a case report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. The biting dog is named ‘Maxine,’ the victim dog’s owner told police. The victim dog’s rabies vaccine was up-to-date, Animal Officer Sean Godejohn wrote in the incident report. He contacted the Recreation Department the same afternoon and found out that Maxine’s owner had “punched in his gate code earlier that day at Spencer’s Run,” the report said. 

Godejohn contacted Maxine’s owner, a Main Street resident, later that same day.