Animal 411

Meet Sean Godejohn, Our New Animal Control Officer [Q&A]

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Sean Godejohn, New Canaan’s new animal control officer, started in his position this month, working with Officer Allyson Halm, who is retiring this summer after eight years in the job. A graduate of Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury, Godejohn holds an associate’s degree in criminal justice and law enforcement from Naugatuck Valley Community College. We caught up with Godejohn on a recent morning at New Canaan Police headquarters. 

Here’s our interview. New Canaanite: What was your position prior to coming to New Canaan? Officer Sean Godejohn: I was the East Haven Animal Control Officer. 

And how long were you in that role? 

Eight years. 

What did you do prior to East Haven?

Animal 411

Black Bear and Four Cubs Sighted on Valley Road

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Police say a black bear was sighted on lower Valley Road last Thursday afternoon with her four young cubs. 

The 4 p.m. sighting on June 1 is the first reported in New Canaan since March 21 on Ludlowe Road, also in the eastern part of town. “It is important for residents to be aware that bears will be roaming through New Canaan routinely,” Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm said. “Bears will avoid conflicts with humans, however in search of food they will venture closer to homes. Bears are attracted too, garbage cans, bird feeders, chickens, compost, gardens, bee hives and many more food sources. Hazing tools should be at the ready.”

The adult bear spotted last week had been collared and tagged as part of the state’s tracking program.

Animal 411

‘A Happy Ending’: Dog Dumped in New Canaan Finds Forever Home

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A young dog that apparently had been dumped last month on a cul-de-sac near the Country Club of New Canaan has found her forever home, officials say. Residents of the area started reporting sightings of the skittish dog to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm on April 8, the Saturday of Easter weekend, she said. “No one could get near it,” Halm told NewCanaanite.com. “It would run just at the sight of them.”

The dog could be seen lying at the end of various driveways in the neighborhood, but as soon as anyone approached, she would bolt. Seeking to get the animal into a routine, Halm set up feed bowls and a trail camera, and found that the dog was emptying them regularly. After about one week, Halm set up a large Hav-a-Heart trap.

Allyson Halm

Baby Goose Plunges to Death at Transfer Station

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A baby goose fell or leapt to its death at the Transfer Station last week, after hatching in an undetected nest on top of a former incinerator building there, officials say. Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm and New Canaan firefighters responded to the Lakeview Avenue facility shortly after 12 p.m. Friday, when a deceased gosling appeared just outside the structure. Asked about the incident, Halm said the father goose could be seen nearby with two goslings that survived the jump down under his wing. Town officials had not been aware that Canada geese were nesting atop the building, Halm said. “I was suspicious that they were up there, but it was so high, I didn’t think it was possible,” she said.

Animal 411

Dog Bites Child on Elm Street

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A local dog bit a juvenile on Elm Street on a recent afternoon, prompting authorities to issue a 10-day quarantine for the animal, records show. At about 4:45 p.m. on March 31 (a Friday), a curly brown-haired dog lunged as two kids ran by a man walking up Elm Street, according to an incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. Shortly after the incident, the juvenile discovered that they’d been bit, drawing New Canaan Emergency Medical Services and police to the scene, the incident report said. It wasn’t clear at the time whether the dog in question was up-to-date on its rabies vaccination, according to the incident report, written by NCPD Officer Rodger Hamilton. The juvenile’s family declined medical treatment, the report said.