Elusive Black Dog Avoids Capture;

Later Takes Bait

By Andrew Gorosko

A rambunctious mixed-breed black Labrador retriever of unknown ownership, which unwittingly traipsed onto the perilously thin ice of Lake Lillinonah late Monday afternoon, drew the attention of passersby who swiftly summoned town emergency staffers to the scene to coax the wayward canine onto shore.

But that seemingly simple task proved maddeningly complex for the about 20 firefighters, divers, ambulance personnel, and police who responded to the lake’s cove off Alberts Hill Road in seeking to get the aggressive male dog onto dry land. Ice on Lake Lillinonah is notoriously unpredictable, in view of its changing water level as an impoundment of the Housatonic River behind the hydroelectric Shepaug Dam.

On arriving about 4 pm, emergency staffers set up operations along a 100-yard stretch of the dirt Alberts Hill Road, which sits atop a terrace at the edge of a steep embankment overlooking the water.

Sandy Hook and Newtown Hook and Ladder firefighters, plus members of Newtown Underwater Search and Rescue, summarily suited up in appropriate cold-water garb and went onto the ice in seeking to lure the agitated Labrador onto shore.

But the animated dog repeatedly eluded capture, again and again darting away from its would-be rescuers as they were about to corral the canine. The dog wore a leather collar, which later was found to bear no dog tags, but hold a sensor for an electronic dog security device.

During the attempted rescue, the ice opened up and two rescuers went through it. The flotation material in their suits kept the men afloat. Being lighter than the men and having four legs to spread its weight, the dog did not fall through the ice, but darted from slab to slab of floating ice.

At one point, a NUSAR diver was on the verge of capturing the animal, but the animal bit him. The uninjured diver was protected by the thick fabric of his diving suit.

After the rescuers spent nearly an hour trying to get the dog onshore, the Labrador eventually scampered onto land well away from the brightly flashing fire trucks and accompanying emergency lighting. And just as police were just about to snare the dog, the animal ran off and went back onto the thin ice in the darkness of the night.

At that point, Sandy Hook Fire Chief Bill Halstead told emergency personnel that it was time to leave. The dog had direct access to land via the ice and would get off the pond when it was ready to do so, he surmised. Also, the rescuers’ lives were at stake working on thin ice in the dark, he said.

The next morning, about 7:30, police received a call from an Alberts Hill Roads resident stating that an aggressive dog was sitting on his porch.

On arriving, police discovered it was the same black dog that had been scampering on Lake Lillinonah the day before. Police also realized that the stray dog must be quite hungry.

Sergeant John Cole and Officer William Hull attempted to snare the skittish animal, but being unsuccessful in that approach, they decided to set a trap for the dog.

Police put some dry dog food, plus part of a grilled breakfast sandwich, into a large wire animal trap. Though initially hesitant, the famished dog eventually walked into the trap and took the bait, devouring the food. The trap door then closed shut and it was then time for a trip to the town dog pound.

The dog pound will hold the animal until next Tuesday, after which, if the dog remains unclaimed, he would be advertised for adoption, said Sgt Cole.