Animal 411

Police Issue $483 in Fines to New Canaan Woman Who Doesn’t Believe in Leashed Dogs

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After a third bizarre incident in two years, New Canaan Police this month issued a total of $483 in tickets to a local woman who has repeatedly asserted that she doesn’t believe in the town’s dog leash ordinance, records show. On the morning of Nov. 2, an officer with the department’s Animal Control section responded to a complaint about a woman at Irwin Park with three dogs off-leash, according to a police report. The complainant had explained to the woman that her own dog was aggressive and she feared that if approached by other canines, the animal would attack, the report said. Yet instead of leashing her dogs at the point, the woman told the complainant not to worry, that dogs shouldn’t be on leashes and they only fight because they’re so tethered, it said.

Allyson Halm

Animal Calls: Roaming Dogs, Bite on Briscoe, Failures To License and New Homes

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Here’s a roundup of recent activity for the Animal Control section of the New Canaan Police Department:

On Oct. 24, police picked up a Novia Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever for the second time in eight days. The senior dog’s owner on Lambert Road was issued $92 and $75 tickets, for allowing a dog to roam and failure to license, respectively. The tan-and-white dog originally had been impounded on Oct. 16. 

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A 10-year-old Australian Shepherd dog bit an electrician on Briscoe Road on the morning of Oct.

Allyson Halm

Town Officials See Sharp Uptick in Turtle Sightings

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Town officials say they’re receiving an unprecedented number of reports regarding turtles out and about in recent weeks—a phenomenon that experts attribute to an unusually high water table. Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section, said in 15 years she’s never seen such high activity. Though Animal Control keeps no formal count of snapping and painted turtle sightings, Halm said they’ve come in recently from areas including Long Lots Road, Carter Street, Greenley Road and Chichester Road. A concerned resident on Huckleberry Hill Road on Wednesday stood out to protect a turtle as it crossed Valley Road, she said. Dara Reid of Wildlife In Crisis, a 30-year-old nonprofit organization that serves Fairfield County, said she’s seeing about double the number of snapping turtles hit by cars than usual, including one that’s about 50 years old.

Animal 411

Town Worker Rescues Goose Caught in Soccer Net at Saxe

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A Canada goose caught in a soccer net at Saxe Middle School is recovering at an area animal hospital thanks to a town employee. Dave Peters of the Parks Department, who had been mowing a field at Saxe on Monday afternoon, stopped his mower and contacted police for assistance in freeing the struggling bird, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. “We were able to cut it free, but I knew I couldn’t release it because it had opened wounds which would attract flies then produce maggots,” Halm told NewCanaanite.com. 

The goose now is recuperating at South Wilton Veterinary Group and will be released once healed, she said. The Oct. 1 rescue follows an incident about one month ago at Kiwanis Park where an area mom of two young kids rescued an injured Canada goose under attack by red-tailed hawks.

Animal 411

‘Frozen in Fear’: Cat Found Dumped in Waveny Is Up for Adoption

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A domestic shorthair cat that officials say likely was “dumped” in Waveny is now up for adoption. 

A woman came across the white-silver tabby on the afternoon of Sept. 24 and thought the cat injured because the animal didn’t move as she passed with a leashed dog, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. The approximately 5- to 10-year-old cat was “found curled in a ball, frozen in fear in the parking lot across from the main house,” Halm said. Because the cat didn’t move when Halm approached, police thought she must’ve been severely injured. But the animal was just frightened, Halm said.