New Canaan and State Police Rescue Abandoned Puppy on Merritt Parkway

Police on Thursday rescued a female Vizsla-pit bull mix puppy from the side of the Merritt Parkway after the animal apparently had been abandoned there.

Ruby, a Vizsla-pit mix rescued from the side of the Merritt Parkway on May 14, 2015. Photo courtesy of the New Canaan Police Department Animal Control unit

The puppy, who is estimated to be about five or sixth months old, was spotted at about 11:13 a.m. on May 14 on the wrong side of the guardrail in the southbound lane, just south of the Exit 37 overpass, according to Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt.

“She could have turned around and went other way,” Kleinschmitt said of the dog that Animal Control officers have named ‘Ruby’ because of her red coloring.

“She is a doll,” Kleinschmitt said.

If the puppy goes unclaimed—and nobody has reported a missing dog yet that fits Ruby’s description—then she will become property of NCPD and will be show-able to prospective owners toward the end of next week, after undergoing vaccinations. The animal appears perfectly healthy, Kleinschmitt said.

Ruby is expected to be adoptable toward the end of the week of May 25, 2015. Photo courtesy of the NCPD Animal Control unit

Ruby is at the Animal Control shelter at the Transfer Station. She is housebroken, knows how to sit, and loves tennis balls, Kleinschmitt said. Although she tends to jump a bit, Kleinschmitt said that the Police Department is working on correcting this behavior and that the puppy is a fast learner.

A state trooper had phoned the New Canaan Police about the dog and Kleinschmitt responded, traveling to the Merritt Parkway. There, she recalled, Ruby stood petrified at the side of the road.

The state trooper had been trying to persuade the dog to safety with Nature Valley granola bars, but wasn’t having any luck, Kleinschmitt said.

“The dog was terrified of him,” Kleinschmitt recalled. “I wanted to see if she would respond to a female, so I took his food and she kept coming closer to me, and seemed to be happy with me. I wasn’t as big a person, and got down on ground, actually, put the last bit of food in my hand and slipped leash over her and got her.”

—Michael Dinan contributed to this report