Government

‘We Think a Lot of the Misuse Will Stop’: New Fob Entry System Coming to Spencer’s Run Jan. 6

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Parks officials are preparing to activate a new entry/exit system for the dog park in Waveny to ensure that those using the facility are registered to do so. So far this year, where a punch-in code is required to enter Spencer’s Run, the dog park has just 175 dogs who are newly registered or renewed to use it—about 53% of them New Canaan residents. That’s compared to more than 400 registered dogs in the past, according to Parks & Recreation Commissioner Susan Lione. The new system will see users scan a town-issued fob to enter and exit. “We are hoping with the new lock, we will be able to track people and people will be registered, the number of people that are actually using it,” Lione said during the Commission’s regular meeting, held Nov.

Allyson Halm

Lab Mixes Fight in Spencer’s Run

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A pair of neutered mixed-breed Labrador retrievers fought at the Waveny dog park on a Monday afternoon two weeks ago, records show, sending one of them to an animal hospital. 

At about 3 p.m. on Sept. 27, Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm received a voicemail from the victim dog’s owner about the incident, according to a case report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. 

According to the Stamford woman, she and her husband entered the park with their two-year-old dog, Ragnar, and leash-walked him toward the back of the park, Halm said in the incident report. There, they came across a Darien man with Jack, a one-year-old, the report said. The woman told Halm that “the two dogs began to sniff and interact” when Jack started growling and the fight broke out, the report said. The owners separated the animals, but Ragnar had already sustained an injury to his right ear, which was bleeding, the report said.

Around Town

‘He Plays with the Poop Bags’: Verbal Warning Issued to Spencer’s Run Dog Owner 

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Police this month issued a verbal warning to a Norwalk woman following an altercation at the dog run in Waveny. According to the complainant—a Stamford man—the woman at about 8 a.m. on Aug. 1 (a Sunday) had confronted him at Spencer’s Run and “was being rude and aggressive toward him, stating he has a black heart,” police said in an incident report. The woman, who has a dog named ‘Tate’ “has been creating a disturbance at the dog park for several weeks,” according to the incident written by New Canaan Police Officer Sebastian Obando and obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. The complainant met in the lobby with Obando and Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm on the morning of Aug.

Animal 411

Police: Two Dog Bites at Spencer’s Run in Waveny

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New Canaan Police last week responded to two dog biting incidents within hours of each other at Waveny Park. At about 10:24 a.m. on May 17, a woman reached down to separate a male golden retriever that had pinned a female poodle at Spencer’s Run, New Canaan’s dog park, according to a police report. She was bit while trying to intervene and unsure which dog bit her, according to Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. 

Both New Canaan dogs were licensed and registered with the town to use Spencer’s Run, meaning they’re also up-to-date on their shots. 

At about 12:08 p.m. the same day, a female husky bit a male Labradoodle at the dog run after both of them went running after the same tennis ball, according to a police report. The victim dog suffered puncture wounds on his chest and face, the report said, and required medical attention. Asked about the incidents, Halm said, “You enter at your own risk.

Around Town

‘A Huge Hit’: Asphalt Pads Installed Under Benches in Spencer’s Run

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New Canaan’s popular dog park got an upgrade recently designed to eliminate a hazard and improve the use and beauty of the facility. In the past, when their owners have sat on the half-dozen steel benches scattered throughout the Waveny dog run, some dogs “would lay under the bench and they would dig holes,” according to Recreation Director Steve Benko. “The volunteers were constantly filling holes in,” Benko told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission during their most recent meeting, held Nov. 11 via videoconference. So working with the Department of Public Works, officials had the town’s go-to paving contractor install four-by-eight-foot asphalt pads under each bench in Spencer’s Run, Benko said.