A New Canaan dog last week finished a home quarantine after biting a Norwalk woman on the hand, police records show.
At about 1:34 p.m on Dec. 7 (a Sunday), officers were dispatched to the Intersection of New Norwalk and Brushy Ridge Roads on a report of a dog bite, according to an incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request.
There, they met with a Norwalk woman, 36, who told them she saw a loose dog “and went to attempt to help it,” according to the incident report, filed by Officer Nolen Heintz.
“While she attempted to help the dog, the dog bit her on the right hand, drawing blood,” the report said. “The dog is described as a small black mixed-breed dog. The dog was placed in the rear prisoner compartment seat of Unit-8.”
New Canaan EMS tended to the woman’s wound, saying it was a small puncture about one centimeter in size, the report said. The victim signed a refusal of medical assistance form with EMS, and left the scene, it said.
While officers were there, the dog’s owners phoned to say that the animal had run away. The Vitti Street residents told police that they had adopted the dog—Romeo, a three-year-old Italian Greyhound mixed breed dog—that same day and while bringing him home “he got nervous and ran away from them,” the report said.
“I observed that Romeo seemed to be nervous and did not appear to be a vicious dog,” it said.
The owners said they didn’t know whether the dog had all of its shots, and checked with the nonprofit agency where they’d rescued Romeo, whose shots were up-to-date, the report said. The information was relayed to the victim, it said.
The following day, Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn placed Romeo under home quarantine through Dec. 17, according to a supplemental case report.
Thanks for naming the perp. A little dose of public humiliation might correct this kind of behavior.
Prisoner Romeo probably got the biting idea from reading Romeo and Juliet. (“I do bite my thumb, Sir.”)
Thank you New Canaanite for bringing us animal tales. Always appreciated.
If a local dog bites someone, and does not have a valid rabies shot – it must be captured and quarantined for an immediate decision regarding rabies testing. The bite victim must be fully informed by the local authorities regarding the time urgency of rabies vaccination. There is not time for a windy back-and-forth about it. The bite victim needs to receive a rabies vaccine immediately. Wait more than a week to ten days, and you are rolling the dice on rabies, which is appx. 100% fatal and not a nice way to go.