Crime & Safety

So You Think It's Not Important to Get a Dog License?

Fun facts on rabies, dog bites, and the leash laws from Wilton's 29-year veteran Animal Control Officer, Bob Napoleon. Part two in a series.

Unlike Animal Control units in nearby towns where kennels brim with unwanted dogs, Wilton Animal Control seldom shelters an actual stray. According to longtime ACO Bob Napoleon, 99 percent of dogs are reunited with their owner within a few hours.

One wonders what keeps Animal Control busy.   

As Patch reported last week, there are often "animal cruelty cases," of which the majority are dog-in-a-hot-car reports.

"Those people do love their dogs," Napoleon said. "They don't know the dangers involved."

"Animal Control enforces all the laws that have to do with domestic pets and all the protocols to do with rabies," said Napoleon. "People need to be conscious of their pet's rabies vaccinations and make sure they don't expire. If their pet runs into a rabies suspect, the protocols are minimal if they're current on the rabies vaccination." 

The rabies protocols are established by the state and the most severe – isolation quarantine – takes place when there are no vaccinations in place or expired vaccinations.

"The most common rabies cases we see are with raccoons, followed by skunks and foxes," Napoleon said. "And an occasional woodchuck."

"We don't do nuisance wildlife trapping or abatement," Napoleon said. The DOT picks up dead animals on state roads and the DPW picks them up from Wilton roads.

"Wherever people see us on the side of a road, we're not out cleaning the street. We're probably picking up a domestic pet," explained Napoleon. "Typically a pet hit by a car."

"And we investigate dog bites," Napoleon said, adding that oftentimes lawyers will come to Animal Control seeking copies of the reports in those incidents.

And while Napoleon could count on one had how many strays were unclaimed and later adopted out in the past year, he probably could not count the number of times he's had to enforce the leash laws, which require dogs to be on leashes when they are in Wilton Center, playing fields maintained by Parks & Recreation, Allen's Meadows, school playing fields and Merwin Meadows.

Also, dogs are prohibited from the turf field, Kristine Lilly Field as well as the tennis courts. 

With much of Animal Control's work educating the public, keep an eye out for future Patch features based on interviews with Bob Napoleon.

Wilton Animal Control is located at 238 Danbury Rd., in the building beside the police station. The telephone is (203) 563-0150.


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