Animal 411

Springtime Wildlife in New Canaan [Q&A]

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With springtime just around the corner, New Canaan residents should prepare to see changes in the wildlife around town. March 20, spring’s official start, marks the beginning of the environment’s transformation and with it, changes in animal species and their behaviors around town.  

We put some questions about the changes out to Officer Sean Godejohn, head of New Canaan Police Department Animal Control section. Here’s our exchange:

New Canaanite: What should New Canaanites be on the lookout for when spring begins? Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn: As spring begins, residents should be aware of ticks that carry Lyme Disease especially when hiking or walking in woody or grassy areas. Residents should check themselves and their animals after hiking.

Animal 411

New Canaan Dog Bites Boy in Face

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A New Canaan dog underwent a 10-day quarantine at home last month after biting a boy in the face, records show. The dog, a 13-year-old brown-colored male mixed-breed named Petey, “was interacting” with the boy at home on Jan. 28 (a Tuesday) when the incident occurred, according to a police report obtained through a public records request. The dog’s owner—who also is the victim’s father, according to the incident report—told police that the boy “had a small puncture wound on his cheek” and was taken to a hospital with the injury, the report said. Police withheld the boy’s age.

Animal 411

New Canaan Police: 50 Bobcat Sightings in 2024

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New Canaan Police say they received 50 reported sightings of bobcats in 2024, down from 66 in 2023 though that’s likely just because residents are growing more accustomed to seeing the normally reclusive felines. Another bobcat sighting, on Lambert Road, came in on Tuesday. Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn said residents shouldn’t approach the animals. They are naturally wary of people “and pose little threat to public safety or health,” according to Godejohn. 

Bobcats are a top-predator in Connecticut that feeds on rabbits, woodchucks, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, voles, white-tailed deer and birds—and sometimes unsupervised domestic animals such as small livestock and poultry, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Godejohn noted that “unprotected pets and livestock” are at risk with a recent rise in reported sightings.

Animal 411

New Canaan Dogs Quarantined After Biting Delivery Man

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Two New Canaan dogs are undergoing quarantine after biting a delivery man on Cheese Spring Road last week. On the morning of Dec. 2, New Canaan Police received a call from a Yonkers, N.Y. man saying that at about 4:45 p.m. the prior day (a Sunday) he’d been bit on Cheese Spring at Knollwood Lane. He was making a delivery when “two dogs bit him on both his legs,” according to an incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. The delivery man went to the Norwalk Hospital ER for treatment, according to the report, written by Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn.

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.