Crime & Safety

Pit Bull Adoption in New Canaan, Pending Home Visit

New Canaan Animal Control Unit Officer Mary Ann Kleinschmitt said in the case of three breeds—pit bulls, Dobermans and Rottweilers—she makes sure the dogs to-be-adopted get along with dogs already in their prospective new home.

 

Officer Mary Ann Kleinschmitt has one more, critical step to take before she parts with 3-year-old pit bull Missy.

Missy (pictured) recently came to the New Canaan Police Department animal control unit, which Kleinschmitt oversees and whose shelter is located above Lakeview Cemetery, after the dog was found walking along Route 123 near the Norwalk line (see map).

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The extra step is this: Go to the prospective adopter’s house in New Canaan and make sure Missy gets along with the other dog that’s already living there.

“With pit bulls, Dobermans and Rottweilers, those three, whenever there’s an adoption I bring them to the house to see how it works out,” Kleinschmitt  told Patch. “It’s because when you already have a dog in the house, they [the pets to be adopted] may react differently if there’s another dog already there, it’s a territorial thing.”

Find out what's happening in New Canaanwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In this case, Kleinschmitt said she expects the adoption to go through, as the prospective adopter is a trusted dog owner whose last pit was adopted through the animal control unit seven years ago. The New Canaan man recently lost a female pit bull—one of two dogs he had owned, the other dog being a male—and wanted a pal for his surviving animal.

In other adoptable dog news, these two Cocker Spaniels found a home and New Canaan Patch plans to follow up with a feature on the new owners.


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