Recently, I attended a gathering of the Animal Control Advisory Board (ACAB) at the Municipal Center. This group regularly meets with town officials to discuss relevant issues and recommend courses of action as it relates to animal control in Newtown. The board consists of several members, appointed by the Board of Selectman, each with a variety of animal care, training, boarding, breeding, rescue, or welfare experience, including dog, cat, and even bird expertise. Learn more at .newtown-ct.gov/animal-control-advisory-board

Newtown Bridle Lands Association (NBLA) President Dee Davis had asked ACAB Chairman Adria Henderson to bring up the issue in front of the board about a possible horse ordinance in light of a recent abandonment of a horse that needed to be cared for until its owner, or a suitable foster, could be found. The organization's request brought up a good point. How does the town care for roaming horses when the animal control officer is called for assistance. There is no written town code or ordinance to guide them. Granted, there are not many horses that get loose that are not quickly found by their owners, or contained by horse-loving neighbors until the rightful owner can come claim them. The town reports that it get maybe one or two calls per year regarding a roaming horse.

I went to see what, if anything, the town code says about horses. It only addresses the prohibition of pets and horses on town property. There are separate Parks & Recreation Department policies that ban pets and horses in town parks. However, Article I does allow horses on established bridle trails. Article II is devoted entirely to cats. If you would like to read the code visit .ecode360.com/15283750

Town personnel admit they have no permanent structure to stable a horse should they need to keep it overnight, or even for a couple of hours. What usually happens in such a situation is the town calls a local horse farm owner to either help with transportation or to safely manage the horse until its owner can be located. So far this system has worked, but it leaves wide discretion to the animal control officer and the town on how to handle roaming horses. Do you think the town needs a more formal ordinance on how to handle roaming horses? If so, reach out to the NBLA or the ACAB.

Dog Poop Fairy

Since I was browsing the town code, I have to give a shout-out here about Article I, Section 113-5, which states: "All persons bringing animals into or onto Town property shall be responsible for cleaning up any solid waste and disposing of it in an environmentally sound manner."

Attention dog owners and walkers at Fairfield Hills, this means you! I regularly walk my two dogs at the lovely venue. And I regularly see piles of canine solid waste, right near the edge of the trail, not off in the woods where it could decompose on its own in privacy beneath dried fallen leaves and thick brambles. And to my annoyance, and I'm sure others, I've stepped in the solid waste piles when I'm not looking and paying more attention to my dogs.

A few weeks back when I first saw two magical signs - one posted near the parking area near Cochran House and the other at the head of the Fruit Trail - I exclaimed loudly, "Yes!" Someone else is annoyed too, and they did something about it. Kudos to whomever posted the temporary yard signs that read, "There is no such thing as the dog poop fairy. Please pick it up." I began to imagine what a dog poop fairy might look like and how she (or he) might operate. The sign depicted a cartoon hound with large black nose and droopy ears with pink wings and ballet tutu topped with a small tiara. Said hound held a trowel full of poop in one paw and a brown paper bag in the other. My version would hold a long-handled scoop and tray and fly over each pile of offending mess scooping it up and then dropping it in the front yard of its rightful owner. My dog poop fairy wouldn't have a nose, and it wouldn't be a dog either, maybe a giant house fly, or some insect that actually likes the stuff, that depends on it to reproduce.

I've had to pick up poop from some pretty strange places, so why can't you, dear reader? For example, just last week my dog decided to poop on the side of a tree. That's right, where the trunk started to curve, my dog let go a present for his personal dog poop fairy that was not all that firm and stuck to the tree. And so, out came my doggie disposal bag, hand inserted inside, and I began to gingerly remove the offending mess from the deep crevices of the bark. Yes, it was gross, but I did it anyway. A far easier pick-up was the time my dog pooped on top of the large rock along the trail that acts more like the canine bulletin board than decoration. After a heavy rain, every male dog has to rescent it with his personal message, but I digress.

I don't have an answer for why people don't pick up after their dogs. Are they lazy? Do they not care that they are spoiling the privilege of walking our dogs in such a nice relatively tick-free zone among a historic and beautiful landscape? Did they run out of poop bags? This can be a problem as the poop bag dispensers provided by the town are few and far between. Would more of them help? Sometimes I think people don't want to carry that mushy warm bag with them to the nearest trash receptacle. Whatever the reason, and I know I sound like a broken record because I've written about this before, but please for the sake of all Newtown dog lovers, like the sign says, Please Pick It Up!

Lisa Peterson writes about history, horses, and hounds at .lisaunleashed.com. You can reach her at lisa.peterson@barngirlmedia.com