Allyson Halm

Animal Control: Dog Abandoned at Irwin Park Re-Homed; Found Cat Adoptable Next Week [UPDATED]

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Update Sept. 2

The cat impounded earlier in the week has been returned to her family. “Cali” had been missing since July 25, Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm said. Original Story

A young black Labrador retriever mix that appeared to have been dumped in Irwin Park on Aug. 13 is being adopted through a reputable rescue organization, officials say. 

The estimated 3-year-old female dog is “very, very sweet,” according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm.

Animal 411

Ex Files To Evict Catherine Palmer from Butler Lane Home 

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A woman seeking to evict tenants from a notorious Butler Lane house is now facing eviction from the residence herself, according to court documents filed last week. Catherine Palmer, known to New Canaanites following her arrest and conviction on three counts of animal cruelty after three puppies died at 151 Butler Lane two years ago, had filed in April to evict two tenants from the residence. 

In response, the tenants said the eviction is retaliatory and that Catherine Palmer is not the owner of title to the property and doesn’t have the right to rent it out or evict those who live there. (A trial in that matter is scheduled to start Thursday, court documents show.)

On Aug. 1 her ex-husband, listed in a complaint as the rightful owner of the property filed in state Superior Court to evict Catherine Palmer. Mark Palmer, identified as plaintiff and “conservator for the estate and person of Beverly Jane Piotrowski, has “terminated the defendant’s right or privilege to occupy the premises,” according to a complaint filed on his behalf by Norwalk lawyer Bonnie Lee Macdonald.

Allyson Halm

Animal Control Roundup: Goose Struck by Car, Dogs Attack Woodchuck

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The Animal Control section of the New Canaan Police Department last month issued a $136 infraction summons to a Stamford man who has repeatedly allowed his dog to roam off-leash at Waveny. The ticket was finally issued on the morning of July 6, when Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm saw the Rhodesian Ridgeback off-leash again near the area formerly known as the “cornfields.” The man has had multiple warnings in the past, police said. Here are other recent animal-related incidents in New Canaan:

Last Monday, a motor vehicle struck and killed a goose on Pocconock Trail. The call originally came in from a passerby as an injured goose but the animal was dead when police arrived on scene, officials said. The motorist who struck the goose wasn’t the person who contacted authorities. 

A sick raccoon was dispatched recently after trapping itself inside a Metro-North Railroad power grid apparatus off of Pine Street, near the train station downtown.

Allyson Halm

Animal Control: Leave Dogs Inside at Home During Fireworks, High Heat 

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With the Fourth of July arriving Monday, the head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section is urging residents to be mindful of their dogs’ wellbeing. Dogs became very frightened and agitated by the “loud bangs and noise” of fireworks that “goes on for weeks,” according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. “We encourage people to not take their dogs to the fireworks, leave them home,” she said. “Preferably with the AC on and some music going, so that they can find some relief from the noise. The same goes for backyard fireworks.

Allyson Halm

Animal Control: Black Bear Sightings Reported in Eastern New Canaan

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Police say a bear who walked over a newly sealed driveway on Valley Road left tracks behind the residence. The incident occurred June 10, the same day police received a second report of sighting of a black bear on the east side of New Canaan, on Sleepy Hollow Road, according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. 

The number of black bears appearing in New Canaan each spring has been rising, according to Halm. She encourages residents to use horns or otherwise make loud noises to haze bears away from residential properties. (Bears often are drawn to residences by bird feeders.) 

Halm noted on a recent podcast about spring wildlife in New Canaan that black bears were sighted in town in April. And in February, a black bear had been seen on Smith Ridge Road near the New York State line, likely roused from its winter slumber by a string of unseasonably warm days.