Animal 411

Six-Month-Old Puppy Found Wandering on Laurel Road, Adoptable Next Week

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Ajax the Schnoodle June 2014
A 6-month-old puppy found late morning Monday on Laurel Road will be up for adoption in another week if it’s not claimed, according to New Canaan police. Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt believes the dog she has named ‘Ajax’ to be a “schnoodle”—a miniature Schnauzer and miniature poodle mix. “He scampers around and loves to play,” Kleinschmitt said shortly before taking Ajax for a “restroom” break up at the shelter by the Lakeview Avenue Transfer Station. “He’s very sweet and good with other dogs. There’s another dog in there and the two of them don’t bark.”

A Laurel Road woman found him wandering in the street at about 10:30 a.m. on June 23, according to a police report.

Animal 411

Restraining Order Put on Dog after Serious Attack on New Canaan Woman at Waveny Early Wednesday

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A Darien dog that lunged at, latched onto and tore up a New Canaan woman’s arm early Wednesday on a back trail at Waveny will be issued a restraining order, officials said. At about 6:50 a.m., police and paramedics were called to Waveny House, where the victim was suffering with 3-inch tears on her upper arm and forearm, as well as abrasions and bruises, after a leashed German shepherd dog attacked her as they passed on a trail, Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said. The dog’s owner, a Darien woman, was walking the 1-year-old male and was accompanied by a man and another German shepherd when the incident happened, according to a police report. The owner had pulled the dog close as the woman neared, the report said. “The dog jumped up, got her arm and held on.

Animal 411

Boston Terrier Owner Fined $92 after Dog Gets Loose, Scares Elderly Woman

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A town resident was fined $92 after a Boston terrier broke loose from its leash, ran off-property and scared an elderly woman walking her cocker spaniel on Hoyt Street. At about 10:53 a.m. on June 19, the terrier ran into the street and toward the woman, trying to play with her dog, Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said. “You are talking about an 80-something-year-old woman who was trying to walk her little dog,” Kleinschmitt said. “She was terrified. She was afraid she would fall down and get hurt.”

The infraction summons issued to the Boston terrier’s owner is for allowing a dog to roam.

Animal 411

New Canaan Woman Gets Rabies Shots after Letting Bat out of House

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A New Canaan woman is undergoing a series of rabies shots after getting a bat out of her house without giving officials a chance to test it for the disease. She’s at risk because rabies can be contracted even without direct contact with a bat, through the saliva, according to Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt. At about 12:20 p.m. on June 13, the woman found a bat flying around in her Old Stamford Road home, according to a police report. “She didn’t realize that if the bat is not tested, she may have put herself at risk,” Kleinschmitt said. “If the saliva drips down and you touch it with your hands, the virus is still viable, so then if you touch your nose, mouth or eyes, that can be an entry point for rabies into the body,” she continued.

Animal 411

Coyotes Suspected in Mutilation of Young Turkey, Death of Fawn

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Police last week euthanized a young turkey whose legs appeared to have been ripped out by a coyote (or perhaps a dog) on Ponus Ridge. It happened shortly before 2 p.m. on June 10 over near New Canaan Country School, according to a police report. The bird likely went to fly off into a tree “and something grabbed it and took its feet off,” Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said. The following afternoon, a resident at home on White Fall Lane spotted an injured fawn through a window. Police responded around 1:30 p.m. but by the time they got there, the young deer was dead.