Fairfield, CT

[Rene Allegrini]

Keeping the town's animals under control

BY JORDAN FENSTER, Editor
10/04/2007


A law giving more power to local animal control officers and strengthening penalties against dog owners whose animals attack other animals went into effect on Monday.

Previously, according to Fairfield's Chief Animal Control Officer Paul Miller, such incidences fell under nuisance regulations, what he called a "graduated law."

'What this new law says to us is we can order any restraining or disposal," Miller said. "It gives us a lot more discretion."

Under older statutes, the first infraction would result in the issuance of a ticket. On the second instance a dog owner would get a summons to appear in court to defend a misdemeanor nuisance charge.

It was a judge, then, who would decide what would become of a dog that attacked and killed another pet. Under the new statute, animal control officers are given the discretion to order a wide range of actions, from restraints like a muzzle to disposal of the offending animal.

Non-compliance may result in as much as a $250 dollar fine and 30 days in the doghouse.

"When somebody's pet kills another pet there's a problem there," Miller said.

Nancy Aleksa, of Fairfield, is not sure the law goes far enough.

She cites "Gracie's Law," the Trumbull municipal ordinance out of which the state statute grew, as being much more specific. Gracie's Law defines what causes can result in a dog being called "vicious" and stipulates specifically what actions an animal control officer may take if such a designation is warranted.

The issue came close to Aleksa's heart when her cat, an 11-year-old calico named Chloe, was attacked severely in July by a pair of Alaskan malamutes owned by a neighbor.

"The neighbor's dogs came on my property. I heard a commotion - I heard my cat scream," Aleksa recalled. "One of the two malamutes came around to the patio with my cat in its mouth. What do dogs do when they're trying to kill something? They shake. They were just tearing at her."

As a result of her extensive injuries, which included multiple puncture wounds to her chest and abdomen, Chloe was euthanized.

Eric Witte, the dogs' owner, said the new law makes some sense. He said the animal control officers who dealt with the issue showed "good perspective and good judgment."

"I've been impressed with the animal control officers," he said. "It's sort of giving the animal control officer discretion and power like a judge."

Witte said he was out of state when the incident occurred, though police reports indicate July's incident was not the first. Witte was cited for "roaming" in 2001 and again in 2005.
"We do not let our dogs roam," he said. "Sometimes dogs do roam, though."

Both Witte and Aleksa agreed that malamutes are not vicious by nature. "They are really great with people," Witte said. "I would want to be careful around small animals."

In fact, Fairfield Animal Control recently did a dangerous dog study, attempting to find out which breeds were responsible for the most biting incidents.

"The most common breed that bit during that two-and-a-half year period was a poodle," Miller said.

Fairfield Minuteman - Keeping the town's animals under control

[rainstorm]

"The most common breed that bit during that two-and-a-half year period was a poodle," Miller said."

I lost a fingertip to a tcup poodle. Give me a large dog any day.