Animal 411

Weed Street Dog Bites Uber Eats Driver

By |

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

By |

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

By |

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

By |

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.

Homepage Featured

Dog Bites Child on Hillcrest Avenue

By |

[The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates.]
New Canaan Police cited and fined a local woman this month after her dog was accused of running off-property and biting a boy. At around 8:15 a.m. on July 3 (a Thursday), an officer met with a New Canaan man after his son had been bit by a “one year old, black, male Labrador Retriever mix type dog”, according to an incident report written by Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn and obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. The boy’s father told Officer Nicole Vartuli that the incident occurred on Hillcrest Avenue, “when a dog came off the property and bit his son, leaving a scratch on his left arm,” the report said. According to the report, the dog’s owner told Vartuli and Godejohn that her dog left her property and jumped on the victim, but doesn’t believe the animal bit him. The dog, “Beau,” has been “vaccinated for rabies with New Canaan Veterinary Hospital until July 25,” Godejohn’s report said.