Allyson Halm

‘Everyone Is Doing Very, Very Well’: Neglected Butler Lane Dogs, One Year Later [PHOTOS]

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One year after authorities seized 12 dogs from a New Canaan house, rescuing them from an animal cruelty situation where three puppies already had died, officials say the animals are thriving in new homes. 

The two Poodles, one Yorkie and nine Maltese puppies, as well as two Maltese adults, an intact male and female, were seized by town officials on Nov. 17, 2020, after they learned that a local woman, Catherine Palmer, had been operating an illegal pet store while keeping puppies in an unsanitary environment, lying to veterinarians about their health and denying the animals access to medical care, according to court documents. 

“They were very, very lucky to meet this fate and not the fate that was planned for them,” New Canaan Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm told NewCanaanite.com on occasion of the one-year anniversary of the seizure. “Very, very lucky.”

She thanked many of the individuals and organizations that assisted in caring for the dogs in the days, weeks and months following their seizure. Following months of hearings, a state Superior Court judge granted the town of New Canaan full legal custody of the animals in January, and they’ve been adopted out to loving homes in Connecticut and other parts of New England, Halm said. “I am so grateful for CERT [Community Emergency Response Team], Connecticut Westport Human Society and Stratford Animal Control and their STARS [Stratford Animal Rescue Society], who came to my rescue,” Halm said.

Animal 411

Police: Black Bear Breaks into Chicken Coop on Lantern Ridge Road

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A black bear broke into a chicken coop in northeastern New Canaan some time during the night Sunday and killed chickens inside it, officials said. The chicken coop on Lantern Ridge Road had been “well-fortified” but the bear got in anyway, according to a New Canaan Police Department report cited by Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. Officers found bear scat at the scene and determined no other species of animal could have broken into the coop, Halm said. A second chicken coop on the same road showed evidence of damage to it that appeared also to be a bear attempting to get in at the birds, she said. The reports come about one month after a resident of Father Peters Lane, also located in the northeast part of town, photographed a mother bear and two young cubs on their property. 

Halm has said New Canaan is seeing an increasing number of black bears appear each spring.

Animal 411

Bobcats Seen on New Norwalk and Beech Roads

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A new photo of two bobcats casually standing on the deck of a New Norwalk Road home has town officials concerned about the animals’ welfare. 

Taken at a residence near Route 123’s intersection with Carter Street, the photo of what appears to be an adult bobcat and kitten indicates that “they are way too comfortable getting that close to a dwelling,” according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. “I have real concerns and I want to put it out there that feeding the wildlife is wrong and dangerous and sort of a death sentence for these creatures,” Halm told NewCanaanite.com. “We cannot have them hanging out on a deck.”

She added, “I have real concerns that people are feeding these cats and that is a big mistake.”

The homeowner who took the photo is not feeding the bobcats, Halm said. That homeowner said the animals weren’t scared away even by an air horn and “just sauntered off” when usually hazing techniques were used, she said. Separately, home surveillance video on nearby Beech Road captured a bobcat walking past the residence before dawn Monday, according to footage shared by the homeowner. 

Bobcats began to appear with more frequency in New Canaan around 2014, and since then Halm has said she’s seen what appear to be families of bobcats establishing dens here.

Allyson Halm

Unvaccinated ‘Shih-Poo’ Bites Police Officer 

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A Shih Tzu mix whose rabies vaccine had expired bit a police officer in a Cross Street apartment, records show. Officers around 8:11 a.m. on Sept. 25 (a Saturday) were responding to a noise complaint at 16 Cross St. when a small white dog—a Shih Tzu-poodle or ‘Shih Poo’ mix named Kokbe—began barking at them “making it difficult to hear anyone speak,” according to a police incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. “I then attempted to usher the dog towards a bedroom so that it could be confined and separated from us,” the officer’s incident report continued.

Allyson Halm

Lab Mixes Fight in Spencer’s Run

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A pair of neutered mixed-breed Labrador retrievers fought at the Waveny dog park on a Monday afternoon two weeks ago, records show, sending one of them to an animal hospital. 

At about 3 p.m. on Sept. 27, Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm received a voicemail from the victim dog’s owner about the incident, according to a case report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. 

According to the Stamford woman, she and her husband entered the park with their two-year-old dog, Ragnar, and leash-walked him toward the back of the park, Halm said in the incident report. There, they came across a Darien man with Jack, a one-year-old, the report said. The woman told Halm that “the two dogs began to sniff and interact” when Jack started growling and the fight broke out, the report said. The owners separated the animals, but Ragnar had already sustained an injury to his right ear, which was bleeding, the report said.