Animal 411

Animal Control: License Your Dog or Risk $75 Fine

By |

The head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section is urging residents to license their dogs this month. 

New Canaan typically has about 3,000 dogs licensed annually for the licensing period that starts July 1, according to Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn. 

“A large portion of New Canaan residents do get their dogs licensed on time,” Godejohn told NewCanaanite.com. 

Referring to the annual figure of approximately 3,000 dogs, he added, “We could always do better.”

Dog owners can renew their dog licenses online here. The application for first-time licenses (and additional information) can be found here, on the Town Clerk’s page of the town website. Dog licensing is required by state law. “All dogs must have a dog license and display the tag on the dogs collar,” Godejohn said. “Failure to license is a $75 fine per dog.

Animal 411

Black Bear Sighted Friday in Area of Irwin Park

By |

The head of Animal Control in New Canaan is reminding residents to back away slowly and never turn their back on a bear if they come upon one while walking, following another sighting at Irwin Park last week. Multiple residents reported seeing a black bear in the Weed Street area of Irwin at around 7 p.m. last Friday. “Make yourself look large and make a lot of noise” if a bear is near while walking, according to Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn. “If possible, get into your car, home or garage.”

New Canaan is seeing an increasing number of black bears because their overall population is rising steadily, Godejohn said. 

A black bear was seen last summer in Irwin. Black bears typically breed in late June or early July, according to the state.

Animal 411

Local Dog Quarantined After Biting Grocery Delivery Man

By |

A local dog underwent 10 days of quarantine at home after biting a grocery delivery man earlier this month, records show. The two-year-old Boxer mix attacked the man early on the afternoon of May 7, according to a New Canaan Police Department incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. At about 2:18 p.m. that Tuesday, NCPD Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn was dispatched to a Thurton Drive home on a complaint of a dog bite, the incident report said. The victim “told this officer that he was bit by a dog … while delivering groceries,” Godejohn said in the report. The man had gone around the back of the home through a closed gate to make the deliveries, it said.

Animal 411

Young Owl Injured After Becoming Entangled in Soccer Net on Carter Street

By |

New Canaan Police are urging residents to remove soccer and lacrosse nets when not in use after an owl injured himself badly after getting entangled Tuesday morning. The call came in to Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn at about 9 a.m. from a Carter Street residence. “The owl was heavily entangled in the soccer net when I arrived,” he told NewCanaanite.com. “The owl had patches of missing feathers from where he tried to desperately free himself. The owl had a number of cuts, scrapes and lacerations from the friction of the net against the owl’s fragile wings and neck.

Animal 411

Injured Goose Found Shot with Arrow; Police Euthanize Bird

By |

Authorities say they were forced to euthanize a Canada goose on Tuesday after the bird had been shot by an arrow. The injured goose was spotted in the morning by a Green Meadow Lane homeowner who contacted police, according to New Canaan Police Department Animal Control Officer Sean Godejohn. “The goose was struck in the rear tail feather area,” he told NewCanaanite.com. “The goose seemed to have discomfort and issues walking.”

Police are investigating. The penalty for shooting a goose with an arrow is a charge of animal cruelty, Godejohn said.