Allyson Halm

Animal Control Sees Rise in Complaints of Bad Behavior at Waveny Dog Park

By |

Following an increase in negative encounters among dogs, and their owners, at Spencer’s Run in Waveny, the head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section is reminding users of the fenced-off area’s rules. “Animal Control officers have been fielding an increase of complaints regarding both human and dog behavior,” Officer Allyson Halm wrote in an email sent to park members, obtained by NewCanaanite.com following a formal request. “Officers are also observing dog owners paying more attention to their phones than their dogs.”

Asked about issuing the reminder, Halm said it was needed after separate dog fights caused “several injuries” at the park. “We’ve had a rash of incidents of uncooperative people, bullying dogs, as well as dog versus dog,” she said. “All in all Spencer’s Run functions fairly well, but I felt obligated to reach out and remind people of the ethics and the rules.”

The email underscored the importance of having owners exchange information after a scuffle or fight and one or more dogs sustains an injury.

Cat That Wandered into Local Home To Be Put Up for Adoption

By |

A cat that wandered into a New Canaan home last week is expected to go up for adoption soon, officials said. The black cat on Friday entered a Richards Lane home wearing no ID tags and local police transported the animal to the town’s shelter at the dump, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department Animal Control section. Animal Control held the animal over the long weekend “hoping someone would realize they lost their cat,” Halm said. It wasn’t clear whether the cat was a stray, or had been dumped or lost. According to Halm, the cat is a male, appears to be a purebred and “has features similar to those of a Bombay cat.” His age is currently unknown.

Allyson Halm

VIDEO: New Canaan Animal Control, Firefighters Rescue Orphaned Raccoons

By |



[Video courtesy of the New Canaan Fire Department.]

New Canaan firefighters and the head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section on Wednesday morning rescued orphaned raccoons from a Main Street residence, officials said. A homeowner phoned Animal Control on Tuesday night to report the baby raccoons crying on her property, and the following morning found that one of the three young animals was on the ground while two others were stuck up in a tree, officials said. Their mom likely had been struck and killed by a car, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of Animal Control. As per the instructions on Animal Control’s after-hours voicemail, the homeowner brought the baby raccoon she found to Weston-based nonprofit organization Wildlife In Crisis. A second one of the babies fell from the tree as firefighters arrived at the scene Wednesday morning, according to Halm.

Animal 411

Unwanted Dog: Residents Mislead Police About Ownership of Pit Bull

By |

Police last month took custody temporarily of an out-of-state dog about whose ownership a Smith Ridge Road family misled authorities. 

An individual at 119 Smith Ridge Road initially led Animal Control to believe that a pit bull in her garage had been found, officials said. The dog was said by the reporting party to be aggressive, according to an incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a Freedom of Information Act request. 

Yet when police arrived at the home on the morning of April 11 to pick up the dog, they were told that the animal belonged to a man living there, Gilberto Constanza-Retana. He told police that his own brother—Francisco Retana, who lived in Brewster, N.Y.—had advised that the dog could no longer stay at the Smith Ridge Road home because the animal was a threat to children in the house, the incident report said. Further, Constanza-Retana told police that he was sick and could not care for the dog. 

That brother, Retana, arrived and repeated what Constanza-Retana had said, according to the report. At the request of police officers, Retana then transported the dog to the New Canaan Veterinary Hospital, the report said.

Animal 411

Coyote Bites Dog Near Waveny Pond; Police Warn Park Visitors

By |

Police are urging Waveny visitors to be especially vigilant in the area of the pond after a coyote bit a leashed dog there Thursday. Those with dogs should avoid the area of Waveny Pond entirely for now, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control Section. Halm said police had two calls Wednesday about coyote sightings in the part of Waveny that includes the pond at the foot of the sledding hill, and that a witness to the biting incident Thursday reported it to authorities. The coyotes likely have established a den near the pond, Halm said, and are protecting the territory. “It should be a short-lived situation, but if people are going down this path, they should be with a walking stick or airhorn” to haze the coyotes, Halm said.