Allyson Halm

Reports of ‘Aggressive Deer’ Prompt Temporary Closure of Greenlink Trail Near Irwin Park

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Officials from the New Canaan Land Trust say they’re taking steps to widen a walking trail near Irwin Park, after deer who had funneled into a narrow portion of it reportedly “attacked” several people last week. Conceived about one decade ago as part of the town’s expanding “greenlink,” the trail allows Irwin visitors who continue north along a sidewalk on Weed Street to walk through the woods and into the back of the New Canaan Nature Center property. 

Yet screening planting for neighbors of the trail has encroached on the accessway through the area, creating a stretch of very narrow passage where, last Thursday, at least one of two deer appeared to have panicked when confronted by people walking the trail, according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. “It sounds to me like the deer was trapped and panicked,” Halm said. Police received seven reports of confrontations between the panic-stricken deer and walkers trying to pass, including one case where the doe got up on her hind legs and pommelled a woman with her hooves, causing bruises, Halm said. Halm said when she went to the area Thursday to investigate, she saw a doe and a younger deer, perhaps one year old, and added that there may have been a fawn in the area that she didn’t see, though the newborn deer was not on the narrow trail itself.

June 30 Deadline for Dog Licensing Nears

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Town officials are urging dog owners to register their canines as an annual June 30 licensing and renewal deadline approaches. 

State law requires all dogs six months or older to be licensed in the town where they live. 

Click here for a downloadable application and information on to register a dog for the first time. Find information for online renewals here. (Starting this year, PayPal and Venmo have been added as payment options for online renewals.) Licensing and renewals are handled by the office of the Town Clerk. Last year, New Canaan had more than 2,700 dogs licensed in town, according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. Beyond complying with the law, plusses in registering your dog with the town include a “free first ride” back home if police pick up a roaming dog that has on its traceable tag collar, Halm said.

Animal 411

Animal Control: Be Aware of Turtles in the Road

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The head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section is urging residents to watch out for turtles crossing the roads as their nesting season is underway. The season runs through June, when females leave their ponds to lay eggs on dry land. The mother turtles often cross roads, according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. 

“The calls are coming in,” she said. “People still don’t seem to understand their determination—they are on a migratory path, so to speak, and nothing gets in their way. They’ve got to do what they’ve got to do.”

Animal 411

Animal Control: Dog Attacks Same New Canaan Man One Year Later

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New Canaan Police this month issued a $75 nuisance dog fine to a Pound Ridge, N.Y. family after their Newfoundland attacked a town man while off-leash on a nature preserve—the second time in one year that the same canine injured the very same man. The first incident occurred last June, when the neutered male Newfie lunged at the man while he was on his bike in the Watson-Symington Preserve off of Wellesley Road, and bit him on the right leg above the knee, according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. The Newfie, now 5, had been leashed at the time, Halm said. On Sunday, May 1, the same town resident had been walking his own dog in the same nature preserve when the off-leash Newfie came toward them, she said. “He grabs his dog to get it out of harm’s way and picks it up and turns his back” and is injured on both shoulders, Halm said, either scratched or bitten.

Animal 411

PHOTOS: New Canaan Dog Days Returns

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Tongues lolling, scores of leashed dogs gathered in New Canaan on a clear, hot Saturday for a popular canine-focused and -themed celebration put on by an established local business. Pet Pantry’s New Canaan Dog Days was held on the grounds of the New Canaan Nature Center, making its return after two years off due to the pandemic. New Canaan resident Niki Marmarinos said this was her first time coming to Dog Days and that she’d be back next year. 

“It’s beautiful weather,” Marmarinos said as she pushed her two toy poodles, Daisy and Lillybelle, relaxing in a baby carriage through. “A lot of vendors, they’re very cordial and welcoming. A lot of variety here.