Our Animals

This section is dedicated to all things concerning our New Canaan animals—pets, wildlife, environmental and health matters touching the animals of our town, activity out of the New Canaan Police Department Animal Control Unit, and more.

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Recent Articles

$92 Fine for New Canaan Woman Whose Terrier Goes Roaming Again

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Police on Friday afternoon fined a Smith Ridge Lane woman $92 and cited her for allowing a dog to roam after her 10-year-old Parson Russell Terrier was found by a passing motorist on Route 123, officials said. In 20 years, more than two dozen calls regarding the same resdient’s roaming dogs have been made to police, records show. The terrier was licensed and up-to-date, though the little dog was found on Smith Ridge Road with no collar, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. The motorist who found the animal said the dog was walking in Smith Ridge Road and that by picking up the animal she had saved its life. Local authorities urge owners to ensure their dogs are licensed and collared with ID tags at all times, so that the animals can be returned home quickly if lost and found. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Animal 411, News, Our Animals, Allyson Halm, Animal Control

Parks Officials Propose Raising User Fees at Spencer’s Run

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Saying it would generate an additional $9,000 in revenue, parks officials said this month that they’re planning to propose higher fees for those who use the dog run at Waveny. An early version of the new slate would see the annual registration fee for a first dog at Spencer’s Run go from $25 to $40 for residents and $40 to $60 for nonresidents, while the fee for additional dogs would rise from $15 to $25, according to the Parks & Recreation Commission. Chair Sally Campbell said the Commission could vote on the proposed higher rates at its next meeting and that they would go into effect after next year’s budget season. “The point is that these are quite low and there is a lot of maintenance that needs to be done in the park and it’s supposed to be the people who go to the park are the ones who are supposed to be the ones funding the repairs through fees,” Campbell said at the April 11 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. There are 843 members of Spencer’s Run and just over half of them are nonresidents, according to Commissioner Rona Siegel. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Animal 411, Government, News, Our Animals, Parks and Recreation Commission, Rona Siegel, Sally Campbell, Spencer's Run

Police: Mountain Lion Sighting Reported on Marvin Ridge Road

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Police on Thursday received a credible report of a mountain lion sighting on Marvin Ridge Road, officials say. The 7:30 a.m. sighting of the cougar crossing a backyard comes about three months after the last one and just a few houses away, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. Halm is calling for all homeowners in the area of 250 Marvin Ridge Road above Nursery Road to check surveillance cameras so that police can get at least one visual confirmation. The sighting checks out, as the man who spotted the animal without prodding described a tawny- or beige-colored feline about as large as a golden retriever and with a long tail, Halm said. Both sightings occurred in the area of the Fivemile River watershed. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Animal 411, News, Our Animals, Allyson Halm, Animal Control, Mountain Lion

$136 Fine for Woman Who Fails To Pick Up After Her Dog in Waveny

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Police on Monday fined a 33-year-old Pound Ridge, N.Y. woman for failing to pick up after her dog at Waveny. The $136 ticket—$90 for violating a local ordinance and an additional $46 state processing fee—followed information reported to authorities by two regulars at the popular park who saw the woman pull into one of the parking lots in front of Waveny House and let her retriever out, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. According to the report, the pair saw that the dog did its business straightaway and that the woman didn’t pick up after it, Halm said. “They were just really offended,” Halm said of the observers. It happened on Saturday, as temperatures soared into the 70s in New Canaan between unseasonable cold spells, and scores of park-goers headed outdoors to enjoy Waveny. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Animal 411, News, Our Animals, Allyson Halm, Animal Control, New Canaan Police Department, Parks and Recreation Commission, Waveny

‘They Are Not Enforcers’: Devereaux Advocates for Preservation of Spencer’s Run Volunteers

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Selectman Kit Devereaux on Tuesday said the volunteer committee that helps keep Spencer’s Run clean and friendly shouldn’t be disbanded, since its members in no way enforce the Waveny dog park’s rules. Responding to comments that the town’s highest elected official made recently, Devereaux said during a regular Board of Selectmen meeting that members of the Spencer’s Run Committee are “a positive force in maintaining a collegial environment.”

“They monitor and refill bag dispensers, they actually go around and clean up the park on a daily basis,” Devereaux said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. “They must not try to enforce the rules, instead they contact Animal Control. It is a group of people that works hard at this and the reason that they have been included under the town insurance program is that they are working around dogs. So when you said that you thought they should be disbanded because there should not be committees enforcing rules and they are not enforcers.”

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan responded only that he would prefer talk about it at the next board meeting, when the possible disbanding of other committees—such as the Youth Sports Committee and Deer Committee—also may be addressed. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Animal 411, News, Our Animals, Board of Selectmen, Kevin Moynihan, Kit Devereaux, Spencer's Run