Animal 411

PHOTO: Bobcat Sightings Reported on Jelliff Mill, Gerdes Roads

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Police say residents in the area of Jelliff Mill and also Gerdes Road spotted bobcats in their neighborhoods this past weekend. Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said she believes the separate sightings are of the same animal. The bobcat’s appearance follows sightings of adult bobcats in northern New Canaan last summer and a kitten in September—though until now, no one had been able to photograph the elusive wildcat. “I am excited we now have a picture,” Kleinschmitt said. Bobcats generally avoid developed areas, officials say, keeping one main den and perhaps additional ones—making them very difficult to photograph.

Animal 411

Two Black Labs Found ‘Cold and Distressed’ at 2 a.m. in Subzero Temperatures outside Oenoke Ridge Road Home

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Police are checking on the welfare of two Oenoke Ridge Road dogs after they were found apparently suffering in subzero temperatures outside their owner’s home before dawn Monday. At about 2:20 a.m., police responded to the area of Oenoke Ridge and West Roads on a report of dogs barking, according to Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt. Arriving, police heard barking and found two black Labrador retrievers—a one-year-old female and 10-year-old male—running loose on the property “and they appeared to be extremely cold and distressed,” Kleinschmitt said. The officer tried for one hour to locate the owner, and then the dogs were brought to the Animal Control Shelter at Lakeview Avenue and kept there overnight. Police continued trying to contact the animals’ owners, she said.

Animal 411

Delinquent Dog Licenses: New Canaan Residents Face $75 Per-Animal Fine

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Two New Canaan dog owners face $150 in fines they fail to re-license their dogs prior to deadlines set by Animal Control after multiple requests to get it done, officials say. Now eight months late, the owners—one a Wellesley Drive woman with two Labrador retrievers, the other a Valley Road woman who has a Jack Russell terrier and toy poodle—will be fined $75 per dog if they don’t re-license by Feb. 13 and 19, respectively, said Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt. Dog owners are to renew their pets’ licenses each year by July 1 (new residents who have dogs get 30 days after moving in to obtain a license). Dog owners can renew licenses online and it costs $8 per spayed or neutered animal.

Around Town

“Did You Hear … ?”

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The town-appointed committee that oversees private youth sports organizations in town hasn’t yet heard back from half of the groups from which it’s seeking basic information on matters such as financials and numbers of participating kids. Members of the Youth Sports Committee reported at their regular meeting Thursday that youth lacrosse, football and basketball hadn’t yet responded to a 3- or 4-page survey that also sought the names of the private nonprofit groups’ board members and officers. Youth baseball, field hockey and soccer all have responded, the committee said. ***

We’re hearing that the New Canaan Police Department’s full report on the Oct. 30 accident on Silvermine Road has been forwarded to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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A mediation hearing is scheduled for February 15 in the lawsuit brought by a bank against the owner of an historic 1780 home on God’s Acre. The antique, Greek Revival-style home at 4 Main St. is being foreclosed upon, has been vacant for at least two years, officials say, and is deteriorating. The Bank of New York Mellon filed a civil lawsuit in July 2012, naming the home’s owner as a defendant. According to the lawsuit’s complaint, the owner had taken out a note for a loan in May 2007 in the amount of $2,280,000, and the mortgage on the property was assigned in October 2011 to The Bank of New York Mellon.