New Canine-ites

Everett the Black Lab: Wags His Tail So Much It Whacks the Wall and Bleeds

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For this installment of “New Canine-ites”—our feature profiling New Canaan dogs—we meet Everett Zack, a 3.5-year-old black Labrador retriever whose owners describe him as “loveable and loving.”

“He loves everybody,” Edward Zack said as he and wife Ann walked down Elm Street with Everett on Friday afternoon. “He loves kids. He loves burglars. He would let anybody in. He loves swimming, he leaps off the dock [at Rye Yacht Club].

Animal 411

VIDEO: New Canaan Sees Progress in Canada Geese Egg-Oiling

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New Canaan officials say they’re seeing fewer Canada geese laying eggs here, since putting into practice a Human Society of the United States-approved method of controlling the local population of what some consider nuisance birds. For about three years straight, the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control unit has seen seven nests in the area of the Lakeview Cemetery and Transfer Station, and this year it’s down to four. Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said the reason is because she and her volunteer helper, Gail Overbeck, have been “oiling” the geese eggs. The method—which requires a permit from New Canaan’s Inland Wetlands Department—involves coating the eggs with oil to seal them off, which means they won’t hatch. The message the mother goose gets is: This isn’t a good place to reproduce, so we’ll go elsewhere next time.

Animal 411

New Canaan Puggle Attacks Another Puggle on Marshall Ridge Road

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A puggle owner in New Canaan has vowed to create a physical fence or else tether the pet on property after it attacked a leashed member of the same designer dog breed over the weekend. Puggles are a cross between a pug and beagle. The April 19 puggle-on-puggle incident on Marshall Ridge Road led to tickets and fines for nuisance dog and allowing a dog to roam for the attacking animal’s owner, according to Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt, head of the New Canaan Police Department Animal Control Unit. The offending puggle breached an invisible fence, though it isn’t clear whether the fence was in working order, Kleinschmitt said. Under state law, it’s the responsibility of the attacking dog’s owner to pay for medical care in clear-cut cases.

Around Town

Coyote Sighting on Stoneleigh Road, Sick Raccoon Put Down

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For the second time in two weeks, New Canaan police put down what appeared to be a sick raccoon spotted on a resident’s property. At about 4:13 p.m. on Sunday, police responded to a Bittersweet Lane home where residents reported a raccoon that appeared to have difficulty standing up. The animal fell into a pond and swam across toward their house, said Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt. Police arrived, located the raccoon and put it down, she said. Unless a raccoon or other animal suspected of being sick has direct contact with people or domestic pets, police do not test the dispatched animal’s corpse for diseases such as rabies.

Animal 411

New Canaan Police Put Down Sick Raccoon on Valley Road [UPDATE]

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New Canaan police on the afternoon of April 2 put down a sick raccoon spotted in the area of 747 Valley Road. The animal was walking in circles when police responded to the call at 5:52 p.m. that Wednesday, Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said. If residents ever have a question about wildlife, they should contact animal control, she said. “I do field a lot of questions about wildlife in general—raccoons, skunks—a lot of their behavior is normal but their habits have changed because of their environment,” she said. “If you have roaming chickens, a raccoon will come out of a tree to get at that, and if you have garbage cans that are not secured or are in a wooden receptacle, then a raccoon will dig in the back and go through.”

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Also: Police at 9:14 p.m. on April 6 responded to 128 Bald Hill Road on a report of an injured possum in the back yard.