New Canaan is seeing a rash of roaming (presumably lost) dogs, including a golden doodle-type dog (tied for our town’s third-most popular dog breed) that on Monday made its way across one of the busiest roads in town—South Avenue—all the way down to Main Street, officials say.
The dog went missing some late in the morning from Hathaway Common condos and was spotted by Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt and her summer intern in the area of 518 Main St.—near the intersection of Old Norwalk Road.
There, Kleinschmitt said she caught up to and leashed the dog, but it didn’t want to hop into the Animal Control van—so she pulled a trick where another door in the vehicle was opened (dogs don’t like to feel cornered) and it hopped right in.
The golden doodle was tagged with its updated 2014 license and police later discovered that it is being looked after by its owner’s mother, who is elderly and did not realize the dog had gone missing.
Other roaming dogs spotted recently include:
6:46 p.m. on July 3: A dog (breed unspecified) was found in the area of 62 Beech Road. Police attempted to phone its owner and at least initial attempts were unsuccessful.
12:41 p.m. on July 3: A chocolate Labrador retriever (Labs are the town’s most popular breed, far and away) was found roaming in the area of 251 White Oak Shade Road. A dog sitter had been minding the animal—it was returned home.
7:35 p.m. on June 30: A Chihuahua was found on Turtleback Road. It was licensed and its owner contacted by police, who also issued a written warning for allowing a dog to roam (an infraction offense).
3:08 p.m. on June 30: A golden retriever (second-most popular New Canaan breed) in a red collar was found roaming in the area of 56 Mariomi Road. It isn’t clear from the police report whether it was immediately returned home.