Animal 411

Fox Has Been Sunning Itself on Footpath at Irwin Park, Animal Control Urges Dog Owners to Hold Leashes Tightly

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A perfectly healthy fox at Irwin Park has been sunning itself along the Flexi-pave path back of Gores Pavilion, prompting Animal Control authorities to urge visitors to hold their dog leashes tightly and mind the longer, retractable ones. That’s because larger dogs spotting the fox likely will lunge at it—possibly breaking free of leashes—and could chase and scrap with the small animal. Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said she approached the fox on the path this week and “was able to get within two or three feet of the animal before it got up and ran off.”

“I followed it into a brushy area and it’s a very healthy fox, no sign of mange,” Kleinschmitt said. “The problem is not the fox. It’s not going to go after a dog or people, it’s just sunning.

Animal 411

Two Rhodesian Ridgebacks Attack a Vizsla on Forest Street

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Animal Control officers are investigating a reported dogs-on-dog attack on Forest Street last week that saw two leashed Rhodesian ridgebacks break free from a sitter, cross the roadway and attack a Vizsla walking on the other side. It happened at about 6:32 p.m. on Oct. 27 (a Monday), approximately halfway down Forest between Locust Avenue and Heritage Hill Road, according to a police report. The Vizsla sustained scratches and possibly small bite marks, according to Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control unit. The leashed ridgebacks had been leashed but the big dogs were able to pull free from their family’s babysitter, Kleinschmitt said.

Animal 411

Serial Escapee ‘Moose’ the Chocolate Lab Roams Nursery Road Neighborhood Again

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Moose, the 10-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever and serial escapee who lives off of Nursery Road, close to the Merritt Parkway, recently got off property again, officials say. Police received a call at 7:34 a.m. on Oct. 8 about the dog roaming in the area of Nursery and Marvin Ridge Roads. The dog’s owners used to have an invisible fence that, for whatever reason, hadn’t functioned, and the lab routinely roamed the neighborhood—a dangerous one that includes the parkway as well as White Oak Shade Road, one of many local roads where motorists are known to travel at a good clip. Moose’s owners vowed to put up a physical fence on their property, Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt has said.

Animal 411

Yellow Lab on North Wilton Road Bites the Mailman

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A yellow Labrador retriever (New Canaan’s most popular breed of dog, far and away) last Friday morning bit a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier who had approached her North Wilton Road home, police say. The 9-year-old female dog is undergoing a quarantine on property after puncturing the mailman’s arm during the attack at 10:57 a.m. on Oct. 9, and then biting his leg, according to Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt of the New Canaan Police Department. No action beyond the quarantine (if an animal attacks off-property, then the quarantine must be done at a veterinarian) will be taken at this point, Kleinschmitt said. Apparently, the mailman approached the house with a box and when the owner opened the door, the Lab came running out and for some reason, attacked, according to a police report.

Animal 411

Raccoon on the Ball Field Stops Play at Mead

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Police at 6:10 p.m. on Oct. 5 received a report of a raccoon lying in the main baseball field at Mead Park. Arriving, police found that the raccoon appeared healthy and had no problems, according to Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt. “We had no issue and it moved along,” she said. ***

On 1:57 p.m. on Oct.