BEARS

Bear sightings in Glastonbury have been steadily increasing since 2016. These beautiful creatures should be respected from afar and not encouraged to engage with humans. Removing food sources such as bird feeders and garbage cans will help prevent conflicts with bear. They may wander through but will have no reason to stay. It’s been said a bear has a good memory and will return to a known food source. Like when we go to that favorite restaurant on vacation! All kidding aside, it can be fatal for the bear if it loses its fear of humans.

Reporting bear sightings

Please report any bear sightings to DEEP by using the Black bear sighting report form. Click here to access the black bear sighting report form. 

Animal Control and the Police Department do not have the equipment and, most importantly, the authority to relocate a bear. Decisions on relocating wildlife are determined by DEEP. Of course, Animal Control is interested in where the bears are sighted too! Please leave us a message at (860) 633-7227.  It is important for us to know where and when the bears are sighted as it assists us in determining the number of bears in town and the routes they are traveling.  

The DEEP website also has a number of helpful resources on bears in Connecticut:

• The basics of Living with Black Bears (DEEP)

Dog Pound/Adoptions

Our dog pound, located at 1086 New London Tpke. is where we care for animals. It is at the rear of the GHS athletic fields and accessible from the GHS football field parking lot. Roaming dogs are brought to the pound where they are often reunited with their owners. Stray dogs are also housed at the pound. The law requires a stray dog be advertised and held for a seven day period. Currently, the Town uses the “Lost and Found” section of the Hartford Courant. If the owner is not located within that time and the animal is suitable for adoption (i.e. passes certain tests) it will be adopted out to the BEST possible home.

There are many criteria we use to ascertain that a dog is “suitable” for adoption, and some dogs and potential adopters are not a good “match”. Final decisions are made by the animal control officers conducting adoption interviews. Being turned down for one particular dog does not mean you are not a great potential pet owner….just not the best match for that particular animal.

We do, at times, have to euthanize animals in our care because they are too sick, old, or aggressive for placement. That option is exercised only after all other avenues for placement and health care have been explored.

Dogs ready for adoption are advertised in the Glastonbury Citizen on a bi-weekly basis and on www.petfinder.com. Families in the market for a dog are encouraged to contact an animal control officer and express their interest. We may have knowledge of a dog looking for a home that has not yet been advertised, or is languishing in another shelter or rescue. We also have connections to breed specific rescues that can assist you in saving the life of a purebred dog rather than promoting puppy mill breeding through pet store purchases.

Dog Licensing Requirements and Violations

The Town Clerk issues dog licenses and license renewals. Please see the Dog License page for more information.  

There are numerous reasons to license your dog. If your dog wanders from home, he/she is immediately identifiable through the license and can be returned to you. At the very least, you could be contacted and advised your dog was safe at the pound. In the event of a human medical emergency or fire, responding personnel and firefighters would know how many dogs you have and what their names were. If your dog is found injured, we have the opportunity to call you so you can make any life/death decisions.  Valuable time can be lost trying to locate owners therefore licensing is important.  

Violations of Dog Licenses

Violation of the licensing law carries a fine of $75.00.  

Rattlesnakes

Of course, this wildlife section would be incomplete if I did not mention our rattlesnake population. Rattlesnakes are an endangered species in this area. Anyone spotting a rattlesnake in their yard or in a roadway is encouraged to contact animal control. A trained officer or volunteer would respond and remove the snake from harms way (yours and his)!

Currently animal control is assisting in a tracking program for the rattlesnake. When a snake is captured it is scanned for a microchip. If the snake does not have a chip, one is implanted and certain data is collected. Each time a snake is collected it is scanned. For example, if a snake has a chip we are able to determine when/where the snake was previously captured, how much it has grown and whether it has given birth if female.

Rattlesnakes are NOT aggressive. They rely first on their camouflage and then their rattle to warn you away. They don’t hide under bushes and randomly strike out at people or pets. They only lash out when provoked. They are in a very small area of town and are active in a short period of time during the hot summer months. Animal Control has information on file that can be mailed to you if you are interested in learning more about the snake and, again, DEP has information as well.

If you have a snake in your yard we would be happy to help you identify it (yup, we love the snakes!). As they move very quickly and are usually not around by the time we arrive, we ask you to remember details. Or grab the digital camera….you can compare your picture with our snake identification pamphlet.

Our goal is to expand this website so you can have all the information you need at your fingertips by providing direct links to DEP, Petfinder, etc. Because this may take time, you are encouraged to call animal control directly with any questions you may have.

Animal Control fields calls on a daily basis concerning wildlife of all kinds. Our main responsibility is public safety, therefore we respond to all calls about potential sick/rabid animals. Upon receiving a call, we may ask several questions to determine whether the animal you are calling about is truly a public safety threat or merely a hungry animal out looking for food at a time of day when you least expect it. Lore has it that fox and coyote are nocturnal, which is false. Fox and coyote parents are often seen out during the day, especially in spring and summer, as they have many hungry mouths to feed besides their own! Mother raccoons have also been known to sneak away from their young during daylight for a snack from a nearby dumpster, fallen seed from a bird feeder or suet.

Although we are not equipped to handle nuisance wildlife complaints (i.e. squirrels that have eaten their way into your attic or skunks living under your deck) we have advice we can offer in some cases. You can also contact DEP (Wildlife Division) and they may advise you and/or give you the names of contractors who hold permits to remove the wildlife. These people are known as Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators (NWCO’s) and must hold these special permits in order to do business. Oftentimes the animals are killed in this process, so be sure to educate yourself as to how the NWCO will be solving your problem and ensure that actions are taken to prevent a recurrence.

We DO NOT trap nuisance wildlife and remove or relocate. It is up to you to learn how to defend your garden from woodchucks, your flowers from deer, your attic from squirrels, etc. Try the DEP website for some information on the above.

We are able to help you with certain problems, like the poor squirrel that fell down your chimney, the bird in your chimney, or the squirrel that is running around your basement…The lone animal that finds himself in trouble in your house (or fireplace) is a call that would warrant a response from animal control. Our goal would be to remove the animal before it dies and release it outside or turn it over to a rehabilitator for care. Sometimes some advice is all it takes for you to resolve the problem yourself!