‘They Had a Nice Idea’: NCHS Freshmen, Girl Scouts Lead Efforts To Get Three ‘Dog Waste Stations’ in Town

Claire Brunner and Lily Hirai, freshmen at New Canaan High School and members of Girl Scouts Troop 50230, knew that they wanted their Silver Award project to be about animals in some way.

Claire Brunner and Lily Hirai raising money for the new dog waste stations on Elm Street. Contributed

A pair of dog-lovers—Lily has a 7-year-old yellow Labrador retriever named ‘Ranger’ and Claire wants a dog—they sought “to make the community more animal-friendly,” Claire recalled.

“When I was out walking the neighbor’s dog, I saw one of these [dog waste station] units, and I thought it would be good for the environment to have one in town, where dog owners can discard of their animals’ waste, so I put it out to Lily and we both agreed that it was a good project.”

The new dog waste station installed by the Center School bell at the corner of Maple Street and South Avenue. Contributed

Soon, thanks to the 14-year-olds’ efforts, New Canaan will benefit from three stations set up in places where people often can be found walking leashed dogs: at South and Farm Roads, at South and Maple, and in front of the Playhouse at New Canaan’s “50-yard-line.”

Made possible by a series of fundraising efforts that the two Girl Scouts oversaw (their troop is overseen by Carolyn Prazenka and Jennifer O’Brien), the projects will mark the first time that New Canaan installs the stations outside of its parks, according to Tiger Mann, assistant director of the Department of Public Works.

“I have to say, they had a nice idea,” Mann said.

The town will resupply the bags at the stations, which essentially are a green box affixed to a post, he said. As of Tuesday, they’ve been installed at the northwest corner of Farm and South (where the bench and crossing guard are), as well as by the Center School bell and out from t of the Playhouse.

Originally, Lily and Claire expected to raise money for just one station, but after setting up to garner donations at three spots, one after the other—at Pet Pantry on Grove Street, then in front of Dunkin Donuts on Elm Street and finally, with help from New Canaan Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tucker Murphy, at the Sidewalk Sales—the girls raised some $380 (they cost about $120 apiece)—they were able to purchase three.

Lily said that there are so many dog-walkers downtown that “sometimes there is dog waste on the sidewalk and it’s not pleasant for people, so hopefully if we are able to spread awareness about this, then people will be more aware and if they forget to bring a bag, they can grab one and pick up and discard the waste.”

Murphy said she had been approached by the girls this summer and “loved what they were doing,” so she gave them space at the chamber’s own table during the Sidewalk Sales.

“These girls are working it, I have to tell you,” Murphy said.

Asked to gauge the extent of a dog waste problem downtown, Murphy said the “lion’s share” of people are responsible about cleaning up after their pets.

“Sometimes people think it’s OK to use the tree well areas and then they don’t clean that up, and someone steps in that,” she said. “So this is just going to add another level of reminding people to clean up after their dogs.”

Joshua Roth, vice president of Pet Pantry, said the Girl Scouts showed “great intiative” and that the local business wanted to support their efforts because “good manners when it comes to pet ownership is a big deal for us.”

“Well behaved and well mannered dogs and their owners act as ambassadors for all of us, and one bad apple has the potential to spoil the bunch as it were,” he said. “Although we like to think a love of animals applies universally, we need to be fair in admitting that is not always the case, and having something like dispensers being more available throughout town minimizes the potential for a mistake to not be taken care of responsibly.”