Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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A chipmunk has been darting into New Canaan Olive Oil this week when the door near Elm Street’s 50-yard-line is propped open. The staff at the shop has successfully ushered the small animal back out again. ***

New Canaan Police will enforce seatbelt use among local motorists with the department’s “Click It or Ticket” campaign, to run May 22 to June 4 at random checkpoints in town. ***

The New Canaan Land Trust has room for two more paid interns to work for the organization this summer. The Land Trust is looking for rising sophomores and juniors and pays $100 per week (for four days a week) for a 5-week summer resetting stonewalls, removing invasive plants, blazing trails, building wildlife habitat, doing research and learning about the land.

Animal 411

‘Feed the Need’: Pet Pantry Believes Shelter Dogs Should Be Treated Like Pets

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[Note: This article first was published on sister site Greenwich Free Press.]

On Monday, at Pet Pantry Warehouse’s Greenwich location, Adam Jacobson, Joshua Roth and Ari Jacobson received an award from an Armonk, N.Y.-based dog rescue group for their continued support of the shelter through a program that delivers food to the adoptable canines. The supplier of dog food for the New Canaan Police Department’s K-9 unit and others, Pet Pantry has been involved with Adopt-A- Dog as a major sponsor since the Puttin’ on the Dog in 1988, but three years ago, the store, which has expanded to multiple locations over the years, furthered their support by creating “Feed the Need.”

“Feed the Need” is a food drive that makes healthy food from Blue Buffalo available to shelter dogs. And, the impact of having this grain-free food does not go unnoticed by Adopt-A- Dog Executive Director Kristen Rice. “When I first started working at Adopt-A- Dog, shelter dogs were served whatever food was available,” Rice said. “Feed the Need provides a consistent diet, and we can see that the dogs have a healthy coat.”

No dog gets left behind in this healthy diet, so Adopt-A- Dog goes through 86,000 pounds of food per year.

Animal 411

PHOTOS: Pets and Pet-Lovers Hit Dog Days New Canaan At Pet Pantry

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Hundreds of leash-wielding New Canaan and area animal lovers descended on the parking lot at Pet Pantry on Grove Street on Sunday for a dog-friendly event that’s become a hugely popular spring tradition downtown. Less than halfway through the 7th Annual New Canaan Dog Days, an estimated 500-plus dog-lovers had visited the merchant tents, signed their four-legged family members up for contests, sampled free ice cream from Baskin Robbins and enjoyed the music of New Canaan School of Rock, one of its organizers said. As it did for Caffeine & Carburetors at Waveny in the morning, the weather held out for Dog Days, said Adam Jacobson, executive vice president of Pet Pantry New Canaan. The event is expected to raise “thousands upon thousands of dollars” for Adopt-A-Dog as well as Strays & Others, Jacobson said. “We have great support from our vendor partners,” including New Canaan Veterinary Hospital, he said.

Animal 411

‘He’s Eating Well’: New Canaan’s Pet Pantry Feeds NCPD K-9 Dog Apollo

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Since the New Canaan Police Department acquired its new K-9, Apollo, one year ago, and especially since the German shepherd dog started working at the July 4 Waveny fireworks, the animal has assisted in drug arrests, pursued burglars, trawled the high school for narcotics and searched for missing people. The dog works up a healthy appetite doing all that work, and requires a nourishing, nutritious diet to stay sharp, according to K-9 Officer David Rivera. And since Apollo started in the job, his food has been 100 percent provided for by a local business: Pet Pantry on Grove Street. “It’s very convenient. It’s awesome,” Rivera said from outside the business on Monday that he visits regularly to pick up Apollo’s Orijen-brand food.