Animal 411

New Canaan Animal Control Frees Hawk Snagged in Chicken Coop [PHOTOS]

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Police on Wednesday night freed a red-tailed hawk that had become stuck in a southeastern New Canaan chicken coop. Authorities were notified of the problem on Buttery Road at about 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 20, according to Officer Sean Godejohn, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. “The hawk presumably flew into the coop to get a chicken and got stuck,” Godejohn said. The bird was not injured, he said.

Animal 411

New Canaan Dog Owner Fined After ‘Buzz’ Bites Jogger

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New Canaan Police fined the owner of a Great Pyrenees mixed-breed canine after he (the dog) bit a passing jogger two Thursdays ago. At about 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 17, Officer Sean Godejohn—head of NCPD’s Animal Control section—received a call from the wife of a man who’d been bitten by a neighbor’s dog while jogging down Father Peters Lane, according to an incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. 

She “told this officer that he was bit on his right buttock” and the husband added “that the dog tried to bite him again on his hand,” according to the report. 

The man “fled from the dog” and “the dog did not follow him,” it said. He added “that the dog always barks at him when he jogs by” the animal’s house, the case report said. Godejohn was able to verify with Pound Ridge Veterinarian that the two-year-old dog is named ‘Buzz’ and identified the animal’s owner.

Animal 411

New Canaan Dog Bites Neighbor

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A New Canaan dog underwent a 10-day quarantine that finished this month after biting a neighbor, records show. The male black Labrador mixed-breed canine, a 6-year-old named “Fishwick,” was leashed when he bit a woman in their Heritage Hill Road condo complex, according to an incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. 

The woman “told this officer that she was walking on the stairs near her apartment when the dog bit her,” Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn said in the case report. She’d been “bit or scratched on the left arm, leg and back,” it said, and went to a health clinic on East Avenue for treatment. The woman knew Fishwick and Godejohn reached the dog’s owner. Fishwick is up-to-date on his vaccines and registered with the town, the report said.

Animal 411

Animal Control: License Your Dog or Risk $75 Fine

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The head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section is urging residents to license their dogs this month. 

New Canaan typically has about 3,000 dogs licensed annually for the licensing period that starts July 1, according to Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn. 

“A large portion of New Canaan residents do get their dogs licensed on time,” Godejohn told NewCanaanite.com. 

Referring to the annual figure of approximately 3,000 dogs, he added, “We could always do better.”

Dog owners can renew their dog licenses online here. The application for first-time licenses (and additional information) can be found here, on the Town Clerk’s page of the town website. Dog licensing is required by state law. “All dogs must have a dog license and display the tag on the dogs collar,” Godejohn said. “Failure to license is a $75 fine per dog.

Animal 411

Black Bear Sighted Friday in Area of Irwin Park

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The head of Animal Control in New Canaan is reminding residents to back away slowly and never turn their back on a bear if they come upon one while walking, following another sighting at Irwin Park last week. Multiple residents reported seeing a black bear in the Weed Street area of Irwin at around 7 p.m. last Friday. “Make yourself look large and make a lot of noise” if a bear is near while walking, according to Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn. “If possible, get into your car, home or garage.”

New Canaan is seeing an increasing number of black bears because their overall population is rising steadily, Godejohn said. 

A black bear was seen last summer in Irwin. Black bears typically breed in late June or early July, according to the state.