Animal 411

Six Kittens Re-Homed in Jelliff Mill Animal Neglect Case

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Six kittens found to be living in squalid conditions last month on Jelliff Mill Road have been re-homed, officials say. Over the past two years, the head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section saw conditions deteriorate at the Cape-style home located on Jelliff Mill near Ponus Ridge, according to a case report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. 

Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn observed a “somewhat liveable condition” and “healthy” cats at the house on an initial visit in January 2024 and would go there “a number of times” over the subsequent months, according to an incident report he wrote Sept. 23. Yet the animals had never been brought to a veterinarian, he said, and in May of this year he received “an anonymous complaint for a number of cats living” in “horrible conditions” on the property, the case report said. During a site visit, Godejohn found that “[a] number of doors and windows were open to the home.”

“No one was home at this time,” he wrote.

Animal 411

Weed Street Dog Bites Uber Eats Driver

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A New Canaan dog underwent a home quarantine this month after biting an Uber Eats driver in the calves, records show. At about 5:33 p.m. on Oct. 1 (a Wednesday), the victim—a 40-year-old Stamford man—made an Uber Eats delivery for a “Susan G” at a Weed Street home, according to a New Canaan Police Department incident report obtained through a public records request. The man told police “that the instructions for the delivery stated that he should ring the bell upon arrival,” said the initial report, from Officer Giancarlo Vincenzi. After ringing the bell several times, “it appeared that nobody was home,” the report said, and just then “a medium sized dog with white fur approached him while barking loudly.”

The delivery driver tried to calm down the dog “and then felt some pressure on his calves,” the report said.

Animal 411

‘Do the Right Thing’: NCPD Animal Control Launches Positive-Reinforcement Leashed Dog Campaign

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The head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section is trying something new to encourage dog owners to observe leash laws: positive reinforcement. Based on a different NCPD program that saw the agency reward seatbelt-wearing motorists with gift cards, Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn’s “Do the Right Thing” program soft-launched last month. “New Canaan Animal Control is now handing out gift cards and coupons to people keeping their dogs on leashes, thanks to generous donations from local businesses,” Godejohn told NewCanaanite.com. “Participating establishments include Pet Pantry, New Canaan Veterinarian Hospital, Club Sandwich and Spa Dogs. This effort not only supports our local economy and strengthens our community relations but also aims to ensure dogs remain leashed in parks.”

Godejohn said he regularly receives reports of off-leash dogs at New Canaan’s parks. 

At first, some of those receiving the rewards “were surprised” by Godejohn’s approach, “mistaking the interaction as a negative one,” he said.

Animal 411

Two Adult Dogs Up for Adoption

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Two adult male dogs are now adoptable from an elderly Stamford man who can no longer care for them due to his own health issues. RayBan is a 10-year-old Great Pyrenees mix:

Rescued by current owner in 2017 in North Carolina;
Neutered;
Friendly, non-aggressive, no biting history, gets along with dogs and people including children;
Healthy, vaccinated and licensed (see patient chart here from Bull’s Head Animal Hospital in Stamford). Duncan is a 5-year-old Bearded Collie:

Purebred, AKC champion;
Neutered, no offspring;
Biting history: bit former owner on the hand while resource-guarding toys. Has never bitten a child. Friendly with other dogs.

Animal 411

Dog Bites Woman, 87, at Waveny House

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A German shepherd dog about 10 days ago bit an 87-year-old Ridgefield woman at Waveny House, records show. 

At about 4:15 p.m. on Aug. 22, the victim called Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn to report a bite that had occurred earlier that Friday, according to an incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. At about 10 a.m., the woman “was bit by a dog at Waveny House,” Godejohn wrote in his report. The victim “told this officer that there were two German shepherds at Waveny House and one of them bit her left thigh,” the report said. The dogs “were accompanied by two males in their twenties, and an older female,” it said.