'Lady! What Are You Doing? It's a Coyote!'

A few months ago, a woman in a Trumbull commuter lot tried to catch a stray dog, holding her car door open for it at one point. That's when another driver pulled up and said, "Lady! What are you doing? That's a coyote!"

Monroe Animal Control Officer Ed Risko advises people to never approach an animal other than their own pets.

"The adage is, 'Love your own and leave others alone,'" Risko said Thursday.

He said that adage could apply to an incident in Monroe on Jan. 1, when a Shelton woman picked up a Monroe resident's German Shepherd on Purdy Hill Road after it had gotten loose.

She brought it to the dog pound and the owner claimed her dog. But the Good Samaritan claims the animal caused $2,000 worth of damage to the inside of her car and wants the owner to pay up.

The Monroe woman refuses to pay because she noted how the driver was the one who chose to pick up her dog.

Risko said police are now investigating the vandalism complaint.

Beware of Rabies

A Weather Vane Hill Road man had an encounter with a red fox late Monday afternoon, when he came home to find the animal sunning itself on his front doorstep. The fox, which had a coat that was poor and mangy looking, fled upon the resident's arrival, according to police.

Risko said the animal could not be found and that an officer discussed common cautions with the homeowner.

Risko mentioned one serious run-in with a person and a wild animal that happened in Massachusetts on Tuesday night, when a bobcat with rabies attacked a man in his garage.

The man was bit in the face and clawed in the back and his 15-year-old nephew was also bitten, according to a report by the Associated Press.