Animal 411

Local Dog Quarantined After Biting Grocery Delivery Man

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A local dog underwent 10 days of quarantine at home after biting a grocery delivery man earlier this month, records show. The two-year-old Boxer mix attacked the man early on the afternoon of May 7, according to a New Canaan Police Department incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. At about 2:18 p.m. that Tuesday, NCPD Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn was dispatched to a Thurton Drive home on a complaint of a dog bite, the incident report said. The victim “told this officer that he was bit by a dog … while delivering groceries,” Godejohn said in the report. The man had gone around the back of the home through a closed gate to make the deliveries, it said.

Animal 411

Young Owl Injured After Becoming Entangled in Soccer Net on Carter Street

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New Canaan Police are urging residents to remove soccer and lacrosse nets when not in use after an owl injured himself badly after getting entangled Tuesday morning. The call came in to Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn at about 9 a.m. from a Carter Street residence. “The owl was heavily entangled in the soccer net when I arrived,” he told NewCanaanite.com. “The owl had patches of missing feathers from where he tried to desperately free himself. The owl had a number of cuts, scrapes and lacerations from the friction of the net against the owl’s fragile wings and neck.

Animal 411

Injured Goose Found Shot with Arrow; Police Euthanize Bird

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Authorities say they were forced to euthanize a Canada goose on Tuesday after the bird had been shot by an arrow. The injured goose was spotted in the morning by a Green Meadow Lane homeowner who contacted police, according to New Canaan Police Department Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn. “The goose was struck in the rear tail feather area,” he told NewCanaanite.com. “The goose seemed to have discomfort and issues walking.”

Police are investigating. The penalty for shooting a goose with an arrow is a charge of animal cruelty, Godejohn said.

Animal 411

Seven Ducklings Rescued from Storm Drain at NCHS

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New Canaan Police Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn on Wednesday morning rescued baby ducks stuck in a storm drain. At about 10 a.m., a passerby at New Canaan High School could hear the baby ducks calling out to their mom from the drain, Godejohn told NewCanaanite.com, and placed a call to responders. “If they had not been taken out of the storm drain they would have died,” Godejohn said. “Baby ducks don’t know how to properly preen themselves to waterproof their feathers.  So they become water logged and drown or become too cold and die.”

Godejohn was first on scene and called for the local Highway Department to help move aside a drain grate weighing about 200 to 300 pounds so he could get to the stranded ducklings. “I released the first duckling to the mother to try to keep her in the area,” Godejohn said.

Animal 411

Police K9 Dog ‘Apollo’ To Retire After 10 Years of Service

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The New Canaan Police Department’s K9 dog, a German Shepherd from Washington state who came here in 2015 to help apprehend suspects, find missing people and sniff out drugs, is set to retire, officials say. Apollo “was deployed numerous times” during his last full year of service, NCPD said in a press release, including one memorable instance where he helped officers find “an individual suffering from a mental episode.”

“This individual had jumped from the second floor of their residence and with the assistance of K9 Apollo and other emergency services the individual was located near a stream,” the press release said. “Recently, K9 Apollo was deployed to a neighboring town, where there was a possible suspect hiding inside someone’s residence while they were away. K9 Apollo successfully located the suspect hidden in the attic of the residence and was taken into custody on scene.”

Fed by local retailer Pet Pantry Warehouse and handled since last year by Officer Sebastian Obando, Apollo joined the department as an 18-month-old. He participated in community events and demonstrations until 2017, when his former handler went on extended medical leave and the animal entered specialized boarding.