Allyson Halm

Animal Control: Delinquent Dog Owners Face $75 Fine

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Saying an usually low number of dogs are registered with the town, police are urging residents to ensure their canines are licensed or risk a citation and fine. Currently, about 2,700 dogs in New Canaan are licensed with the municipality as per state law, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. The figure has neared 3,000 in recent years and the difference could be due to move-ins, Halm said. “Everybody should have done this by June,” Halm said, referring to the annual license period. “And my philosophy is that if I can do it, anybody can do it.

Allyson Halm

PHOTOS: Two Bobcats Seen on Marvin Ridge Road

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A pair of bobcats were photographed on a Marvin Ridge Road property, officials said Friday. 

A rare sighting, the pair likely are a female with a male in pursuit, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. She noted that the breeding season is just getting underway: Bobcats breed between February and March, and one to four kittens generally are born in a litter in April. Halm said she has reported the sighting to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The sighting of the reclusive species is the first reported in New Canaan in one year. Animal Control received reports of sightings on Marvin Ridge Road and Ponus Ridge last February.

Animal 411

New Canaan Police Impound Small Dog Reported as Found on Route 123

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New Canaan Police have impounded a small, neutered male dog that a Canaan Parish resident reported finding last Saturday afternoon on Route 123. The approximately 1-year-old dog—likely a mixed-breed, such as a Havapoo, Morkie or Havichon—was “frightened and suspicious” at first, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department Animal Control section. “Now I’m his caretaker and best buddy,” she said. Anyone who recognizes the dog should contact Animal Control at 203-594-3510. 

Halm said she has named him “Vingt”—French for “20,” since he’s the twentieth impound of this fiscal year and arrived in 2020. He’s at widely discussed Animal Control shelter at the Transfer Station.

State: 5 Coyotes Trapped and Killed in New Canaan in October, November

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Five coyotes were trapped and killed in southwestern New Canaan in October and November under a state-issued permit, records show. A raccoon also was caught in the trap and released on site, according to information from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Issued Sept. 23 for the area of Adams Lane after a coyote snatched and killed a small dog outside, the nuisance wildlife control officer’s permit ran through Nov. 30. 

Here’s a summary of the trapper’s work, according to a Nuisance Wildlife Control Special Permit Report submitted to DEEP as required by state regulations:

NewCanaanite.com obtained the report through a public records request. 

State officials originally had issued the permit through Oct.

Allyson Halm

State: Animal Trapping Permit in New Canaan Extended Due to ‘Limited Success’

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State officials say they’ve extended a special permit to trap animals in southwestern New Canaan after an initial five-week period failed to yield results. Issued Sept. 23 for the area of Adams Lane after a coyote snatched and killed a momentarily unwatched small dog there, the nuisance wildlife control officer’s permit now is good through Nov. 30, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials said in response to a public records request from NewCanaanite.com. 

The extension is “due to limited success at the end of the initial period,” Mary Lou Kramer, a paralegal in the DEEP commissioner’s Office of Legal Counsel, said in an email. The trapping permit originally was issued to Tom Logan, Kramer said.