Animal 411

Animal Control Raises Concerns After Reports of ‘Friendly’ Fox Living Near the Downtown 

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Officials say the town has received numerous reports in recent weeks of a “friendly” fox living in the area of Richmond Hill Road and Park Street, raising concerns about too much familiarity with the animal. Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section, said she’s been told that “the fox shows little fear and has appeared to follow people, even those walking dogs.”

“In the photo the fox appears young, healthy and has good weight to it,” Halm said, referring to the image above. “The concern is that this fox is being fed regularly by someone which would explain the lack of fear towards humans and the weight this fox has. Wild animals that associate humans with food present a risk to all and most likely won’t end well for this fox.”

The town has seen an increasing number of foxes denning and living downtown, with known litters on Maple Street, Harrison Avenue and Lakeview Avenue. A large litter of fox kits born in Lakeview Cemetery made headlines in 2016.

Allyson Halm

Local Woman Ticketed (Again) for Off-Leash Dogs

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Police this month issued a $136 ticket to a local woman for violating a town ordinance regarding off-leash dogs in public places. New Canaan resident Amanda Coulon has incurred hundreds of dollars in fines for allowing her dogs off-leash in areas that include the high school and Waveny. She has said in the past that she doesn’t believe in the town’s dog leash ordinance. Under Section 6.8 of the Town Code: “Except in a dog run established by the Town, no person shall bring any dog into any public park, public playground, public school grounds, public parking lot, public street or sidewalk unless the dog is on a leash or lead that is no more than 25 feet in length and under the control of its owner or keeper at all times.”

Asked about the most recent incident, Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm said Coulon appeared on the morning of Nov. 10 (a Thursday) near the gravel parking area between the Spencer’s Run lot and kids’ soccer fields at Waveny.

Animal 411

‘I Don’t Think He Likes Pugs’: Local Woman Calls for Separate Large- and Small-Dog Areas at Spencer’s Run

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Saying her pug was attacked twice in the dog run at Waveny, a local woman last week asked parks officials to consider creating separate “large” and “small” dog areas within Spencer’s Run. Kathryn Quirk told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission last week that her 1-year-old pug is “very friendly and she’s great with the other dogs and this one dog just jumped all over her and was very vicious” on two separate occasions. “Fortunately my husband was there and he was able to grab her,” Quirk told the Commission during its regular meeting, held Nov. 9 at Lapham Community Center. “He’s done this twice and I’ve watched him do it to another dog on a different day and I’m sort of reluctant to take her there now,” she said.

Allyson Halm

PHOTOS: Wild River Otters in New Canaan

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Adam Biren had been living in his house on the Noroton River in southwestern New Canaan for about five years when he saw an animal along the water that looked like a small dog with a long tail. It was this past summer when the family of five river otters first showed up. The animals swim around fishing in the river, run along the side of the waterway, “frequently jumping out and getting back in,” Biren said. “My three kids love watching the otters and run to our back windows to observe whenever they make an appearance,” he said. Though most residents of Connecticut rarely see wild river otters because the species avoids contact with humans “the state’s river otter population is healthy and stable,” according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. 

“Otters are active all year and they are generally nocturnal or crepuscular (active at dawn or dusk), although diurnal activity is not uncommon,” according to the DEEP.

Animal 411

New Canaan Animal Control: Coexisting with Black Bears

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With the recent black bear attack of a 10 year old child in Morris, Conn., New Canaan Animal Control wanted to take this opportunity to restate some of the basic guidelines for coexistence with bears. Black bear sightings are becoming more common in New Canaan year round so the more we know about them the safer we can be. Black bears are the least dangerous bear species in North America, and there have been only 67 fatal attacks by black bear on humans in the last 120 years. They generally avoid interactions with humans and retreat from conflict. An important fact is that a bear’s sense of smell is seven times greater than a bloodhound.