Animal Control

Animal 411

Bat Found in Main Street Home Tests Positive for Rabies

By Michael Dinan | August 5, 2020

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

By Michael Dinan | August 3, 2020

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.

Animal 411

Police: Dogs Must Be Licensed by Friday

By Michael Dinan | July 27, 2020

The head of Animal Control in New Canaan is reminding dog owners to have their pets licensed by Friday, following a deadline extension amid the COVID-19 public health emergency. Typically dogs must be licensed each year by June 30. 

Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section, said she’s seen an increasing number of puppies in town parks. “My understanding is there was a surge of purchases and adoptions of puppies, so we want to educate those people and then of course there’s an influx of people wanting to move here,” Halm said. Those who fail to license their dogs—per state law, they must be licensed when they’re six months old in the town where they reside—face a late fee as well as $75 fine. Proof of current rabies vaccination and spaying or neutering, if applicable, must be provided at the time of the application.