Animal 411

New Canaan Police Officer, Veterinarian Save Overheating Bulldog Found Roaming Downtown

By |

The diligence and care of a police officer and local veterinarian last week likely saved the life of a young bulldog who got off-property in downtown New Canaan on an afternoon that saw temperatures soar toward 100 degrees. Around 3:49 p.m. on July 21—a Friday—Police Officer Andrea Alexander responded to a report of a roaming dog lying in a residential driveway on the south side of Locust Avenue, according to an incident summary report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a Freedom of Information request. A Forest Street woman 52, told Alexander that the young animal had been following them and “that the dog seemed to be overheating and they tried to give him water but he wouldn’t take it,” the report said. “I found the dog to be a young male English bulldog and he was having issues breathing from the excessive heat. I had a leash and he came with me to my car and I was able to get him into the back area.

Animal 411

New Canaan Vet: Deer Ticks ‘Are Out Now in Force’

By |

With the frost out of the ground and more residents enjoying the outdoors with their dogs, a New Canaan veterinarian is urging pet owners to check their dogs for ticks. Dr. Daniel Hochman of Grove Street Veterinary said dog owners also should use anti-products (“There are topicals and orals”) and ensure the animals’ Lyme Disease shots are up-to-date. Asked to gauge tick activity right now, Hochman—owner of a 4-year-old goldendoodle, Trixie (see photo at right)—said: “They are out now in force.”

“It [prevalence of ticks] is really variable with where you live, in terms of your landscaping,” Hochman said. “People who have more tall grass with a lot of trees, their dogs are just covered in ticks.”

Hochman said the Lyme vaccine for dogs is “very effective.”

“I see a very low incidence of clinical Lyme Disease in my practice because most all of my clients are vaccinated for it, and use some type of a tick preventative,” he said. According to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, symptoms of Lyme in dogs include lethargy, arthritis, fever, fatigue and kidney damage.

New Canine-ites

Meet Bruno and Winston, Born Four Days Apart

By |

 

For this installment of “New Canine-ites,” we caught up with a pair of new residents, puppies Bruno and Winston Bratches, in front of Family Britches on Elm Street, where a small crowd had gathered to admire them. Newly arrived from the same kennel in New Hampshire, the Labrador retrievers were born four days apart, said mom Patty Bratches. (Bruno is the black lab, Winston yellow.)

The family decided to get the dogs after losing two 15-year-old yellow labs, she said. Asked where New Canaanites can expect to meet the pups, Bratches said: “We’re socializing them all over town. We’re not dog park people, so we will socialize them all around town.”

“They will be at Family Britches all the time,” she added with a laugh as staff members at the Elm Street store joined the crowd on the sidewalk, admiring Bruno and Winston.