Animal 411

Decapitated Rabbit Turns Up on Richmond Hill Road; Bobcat Sighting on Wahackme

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A Richmond Hill Road man on Thursday discovered a headless rabbit near his property, officials say—a carcass that the head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control Unit attributes to a hungry hawk rather than a sick human. Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said she could see claw marks on the rabbit near where the head was “completely pulled out.”

“That is very common among these animals,” she said. “They take a rabbit or take a squirrel, they take the head off and then drop the rest of the body and try to go back, because it’s too heavy for them to fly any distance with it.”

A headless rabbit also had turned up on Heritage Hill Road last summer, and that also was said to be the work of a hawk or possibly a raccoon. Two years ago, two disturbing discoveries turned up in town—when a decapitated cat was discovered around Halloween and then, two weeks later, a rabbit turned up on Pepper Lane with its head clearly chopped off with a knife. ***

A bobcat was spotted April 8 on Wahackme Road, Kleinschmitt said, leading her to believe firmly that there are two of the animals in town: One on the Ponus Side of New Canaan and the other near Gerdes Road.

Animal 411

Police: Woman Who Rear-Ended Animal Control Van Friday Had Been Looking for Something in Her Purse

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Police say the woman who rear-ended the department’s Animal Control van on South Avenue late Friday morning had taken her eyes off of the road to grab something from her purse. The van was pushed 26 feet in the accident, according to Sgt. Carol Ogrinc, public information officer of the New Canaan Police Department. Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt suffered head, neck and knee pain in the accident—she was treated at Norwalk Hospital and out within a few hours, officials have said. She is OK, police said.

Animal 411

Animal Control Officer OK after Van Rear-Ended

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Traffic came to a halt on South Ave. Friday late morning as an SUV rear-ended an Animal Control van near the intersection of South and Harrison Avenue. New Canaan Police, EMS and Fire Department vehicles were on the scene shortly after the accident occurred around 11:30 am, according to a bystander. Officials say Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt had been driving the van, and is back home after being transported to the hospital with what appear to be minor injuries.

Animal 411

Dog Bite Sends Woman to Hospital; Off-Leash Lab’s Owner Fined

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Police say a dog bite late Monday morning sent an elderly woman to the hospital because she was bleeding so badly. According to Animal Control, a Bichon Frise mix on Dan’s Highway bit the victim’s lower left calf around 11:30 a.m. The woman had been visiting a friend here in New Canaan—the dog’s owner—got bit and reported the bite about 90 minutes later, police say. Under state law, dogs that bite humans on their own property may under 14-day quarantines at home. ***

Police on Monday fined a town resident $136 for having a cream-colored Labradoodle off-leash at the New Canaan Nature Center. The fee is up from its previous $90 under a new state law that puts additional administrative processing fees (which go to Hartford) on some local ordinances.

Animal 411

Owner of Dogs Found Distressed in Subzero Temps ‘Shocked’; Dog-Sitter Avoids Animal Cruelty Charge

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Police say the owner of two black Labrador retrievers, on returning home from February break, was “shocked” to learn that the dogs had been left outside for five hours in freezing temperatures while on her dog-sitter’s watch. Yet the owner is withholding the dog-sitter’s name and as a result, police are unable to pursue an animal cruelty charge in a case that has several unusual circumstances, according to Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt. “The dogs would have died,” Kleinschmitt said, if not for a vigilant neighbor phoning police after 2 a.m. last Monday Feb. 16 about barking dogs, and then a New Canaan Police officer arriving on scene and bringing the distressed animals to safety (more on that officer below). Nobody came to report the missing dogs until 9 a.m. that Monday, a full 12 hours after they’d been let out at their family’s Oenoke Ridge Road home.