Crackdown Kicked Off for Stamford's Mianus River Park

Area residents planning on bringing their dogs to Mianus River Park to let their dogs off-leash to stretch their legs should be careful as it's against the law and authorities are beginning a major crackdown, Stamford Animal Control Officer Tilford Cobb reported Friday

The Stamford Animal Care & Control Center, in collaboration with the Stamford Police Department, has kicked off a crackdown for pet law offenders at Mianus River Park, Cobb said.

According to Cobb, complaints have been piling up from homeowners and park goers who live near or visit the park. Over the summer of 2012, Animal Control began ticketing more frequently at the park for violations spotted like dogs being off leash or owners not picking up after their animals, but he said this round of ticketing will be much stricter.

"We're escalating our efforts at Mianus River Park and we've received orders to issue no warnings and ticket for all possible offenses," Cobb said. "The Police Department is getting more involved and we received orders from Capt. Sue Bretthauer to give tickets for everything we can find."

Cobb said, potentially, tickets could reach hundreds of dollars for offenses like failure to vaccinate, failure to license a pet, failure to provide accurate proof of licensing, allowing a pet to be off leash, disobeying posted signs and more.

Cobb also explained the police department's involvement. He said the department is assisting with manpower, and undercover officers will be present in the park giving tickets as well.

"The parks and recreation officers will be assisting with an undercover operation and will be monitoring what's going on," Cobb said. "People are ignoring all the rules, breaking the law and they don't care."