One evening In January, during the bitter cold wave that descended upon us, a dog was found running loose on Rte. 39, with no collar or other means of identification. The person who found the dog quickly p
osted a picture of it on the New Fairfield Dog Park Facebook page and almost immediately action was taken. Someone who knew one of the volunteers at the New Fairfield/Sherman Shelter arranged for that kind person to open up the shelter, and the dog was in. Whew, it was safe for the night!

Conversation continued on the Facebook page as to what could be done to help pets who are found wandering, with the critical emphasis on the urgency on a night such as that. Someone suggested that the town get a chip reader which could be held in the police station, 24/7; a great idea but none of us were quite sure as to how to go about getting one. Little did we know that Cindy Trachten, who works at the New Fairfield Animal Hospital, saw the posting and she started a search; a very successful s
earch which resulted in the donation of a HomeA
gain chip reader from one of Cindy’s contacts!

This week the transfer of the of the universal chip reader was done from Cindy (on the right), and Christy Mattoon (left), the administrator of the Dog Park, to our First Selectman and Chief of Police, Pat Del Monaco (center). The chip reader will be held at the dispatcher’s desk, at the police station, with a full set of instructions. The dispatcher will not be responsible for attempting to see if the animal has a chip, but will call upon a set of designation people who will see that the animal is scanned. The Dog Park team is in the midst of defining and implementing a process and once that is complete, will be published in the Town Tribune, the
New Fairfield Dog Park Facebook page and on the community Facebook page. Until the process is published, if you have a need to identify a dog or cat, contact Christy Mattoon at 203-247-6623.

We strongly recommend that everyone have their pet chipped; it can be done at any veterinarian office for little cost, and then to register that chip with a Chip Reader service with your con
tact information. For any questions please contact your veterinarian.

By Christy Mattoon