Allyson Halm

Animal Calls: Raccoon Shot, Dog Struck by Car, Rabid Bat

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What follows is a rundown on recent animal-related police calls. Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section, provided information when asked about these cases. ***

The Devonwood Lane owner of a Great Pyrenees dog on Sept. 5 was issued a $92 ticket for allowing a dog to roam. It’s the third time this year that the same dog has been found roaming and its owner cited for the infraction-level violation (Feb.

Animal 411

Animal Control: Leave Your Dogs At Home

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Police are urging residents to keep their pets cool and safe amid yet another sustained heat wave this summer. Residents can be seen running with their dogs at Waveny or along South Avenue “and I don’t think they realize how hot that pavement is,” according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department. “It is so unnecessary and dangerous,” she said. “It’s OK the early morning or maybe in the evening If it cooled down, but definitely not in the heat of the day. And dogs don’t cool like we do, so you don’t realize that when a dog is lagging behind, they are saying ‘stop.’ ”

The National Weather Service has plated the area under a Heat Advisory through 8 p.m. Wednesday, saying “hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur.” 

“A Heat Advisory is issued when the combination of heat and humidity is expected to make it feel like it is 95 to 99 degrees for two or more consecutive days, or 100 to 104 degrees for any length of time,” the organization said.

Animal 411

Police Seek Owner of Cat That Scratched Human

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Police say they’re seeking the owner of a cat found in the area of Husted Lane, near the Locust Avenue parking lot in downtown New Canaan. The domestic short-hair tabby “accidentally scratched a New Canaan resident” Friday, according to a press release from the New Canaan Police Department. She’s being quarantined until the owner is found, the press release said. The cat is a female tricolor with a distinct black collar with cross bones and skulls, police said. Dogs and cats must undergo a state-required quarantine for when they bite or scratch humans while off-property.

Animal 411

Bat Found in Main Street Home Tests Positive for Rabies

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A bat captured last weekend inside a New Canaan home has tested positive for rabies, officials say. A nuisance wildlife control operator on July 31 captured the bat inside a Main Street home and sent its body to a state lab for testing, according to Officer Allyson Halm of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. The mammal is believed to have been in a baby’s room, Halm said. It was the third bat found in a New Canaan home in three days, with another on Riverbank Court on July 29 and one in a nearby Main Street home on July 28. 

Asked what the level of concern is, Halm said there’s open question of whether there are more infected with the virus disease. “I alerted the family with the negative bat, because they are only few doors down, to be very aware, because one would think that would spread somewhat easily among a species that ‘hang’ together,” Halm said.

Animal 411

Animal Control: Black Bear Sightings Up This Summer

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After five more black bear sightings in New Canaan since last Wednesday, the head of Animal Control is urging residents to be vigilant and for those with bird feeders to consider installing electrified fences around them. Sightings of black bears came in recently on Journey’s End, Cheese Spring and Bald Hill Roads, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. Residents are reporting a small bear, Halm said. “Some people are using the word ‘cub,’ but I don’t want to go there,” Halm told NewCanaanite.com. 

June and July both saw a rise in bear sightings, Halm said, and she’s already received one more since Friday. 

“We are consistently hearing about bears,” she said. 

The sightings have been reported from all over town, from Charter Oak Drive near the Darien line, to Silvermine near Norwalk and up along the New York state border, Halm said. “I just think they are taking up residence along [town] borders the way the sighting is going, using a big territory,” she said.