State EnCon officers and EMS crews responded to a report of a person who had fallen off a vessel and into the Salmon River in East Haddam on Thursday, but the call turned out to be a misunderstanding.

According to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, a driver noticed someone in the water and called for emergency crews.

It turned out the driver mistook a duck hunter pushing a kayak as being in distress, but the person was never in any danger, DEEP officials said.

A school bus driver who lives in Wolcott is accused of sexually assaulting a child for eight years, according to police. 

Wolcott officers said a complaint alleges that Joseph Addona began to assault the child when she was 4 years old in 2002, until she was 12 years old in 2010.

Addona was a school bus driver for the New Britain Transit and is known by the victim's family, police said. 

The victim told police that after she turned 12 years old, Addona would still contact her and urge her to come to his house. She contacted police after disclosing the abuse to a therapist.

The 60-year-old was arrested on Thursday and admitted that he had visited the girl's home but denied having sex with her, Wolcott police said. 

Addona was charged with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree harassment and risk of injury to a minor. His bond was set at $250,000.

Addona was fired after New Britain Transit learned of the police investigation.

A man was arrested for allegedly trying to enter a private backstage area during pop star Katy Perry’s concert at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on Wednesday night.

Pawel Leszek Jurski was ordered to stop after he entered a restricted backstage area during the concert, according to an arrest report. Jurski ignored the warning and attempted to rush toward the stage.

Miami Police officers arrested Jurski and escorted him to a secluded area, where he briefly escaped.

Jurski told officers that he was a Polish citizen in the United States on a tourist visa, and that he attempted to contact Perry at her concert in Orlando at Walt Disney World just a few days prior to her concert in Miami.

Perry’s director of security told police that Jurski also climbed to the 14th floor of a hotel in Miami Beach where the singer was staying.

Jurski repeatedly followed the singer across the country, attending concerts in Tampa, Atlanta, Chicago and Grand Rapids all in the past 20 days, according to the arrest report.

Jurski told officers that he would do whatever it would take to be with Perry.

Officials say Jurski wanted to surprise Perry at a steakhouse after trailing her security guards to the restaurant in Chicago.

Jurski faces charges of stalking, escaping, loitering and resisting officers without violence. It wasn't immediately clear if Jurski has an attorney.

A Norwich dad who has been away from his family after joining the U.S. Army is home for the holidays.

Specialist Cleyce Almond surprised his 5-year-old daughter with his homecoming on Thursday at a Stanton Elementary School concert.

As the students on stage finished singing a rendition of "Home" by Phillip Phillips, Almond came out from behind the curtains to meet his daughter, sitting in the first row of the audience.

"How are you? I missed you so much! Can I have a hug?" Almond said to kindergartener Camryn.

The embrace was met with an auditorium full of cheers.

For the last nine weeks, Almond was at Army boot camp in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

"You know I’ve been dreaming about seeing you every day," Almond told his daughter in between hugs.

Almond also planned to surprise his 2-year-old Cali on Thursday afternoon. Almond heard his toddler has been talking much more than she was when he left.

He also met his 9-day-old daughter, Cherish, for the very first time. 

"I don’t get much sleep anyway so I can sit up with her all night," Almond smiled.

In her dad’s arms, Camryn said she is "happy, because I miss him."

The kindergartener is excited to show her dad some of the new pictures in her room, pitch a tent and go to their favorite spot: Dunkin’ Donuts.

With just 13 days home before he spends another six weeks in Missouri, Almond knows to hold onto every minute.

He said his three girls and his wife were his motivation to get through boot camp and wrote to them any chance he had.

"Every moment counts. I’m here for 13 days and I’m going to make every moment count. Cherish your family. Especially around the holidays," Almond said.

Principal Susan Lessard said it’s important for students to see the sacrifices soldiers and family make. She also served in the Army and was a military police officer in the Gulf War in 1991 with a POW Camp.

"It’s really important to see that. That they’re away from their family and both sides have a sacrifice: the family and the soldier," Lessard said.

As traveler traffic at airports soars for the holidays, the Transportation Security Administration is looking into new high-tech scanners that will be able to digitally unpack carry-on bags, giving a detailed 3-D image of what's inside, NBC News reported.

To the everyday traveler, the device looks like the typical 2-D scanner now common at airports world-wide. But the new machines are a smaller version of the type of CT or CAT scanners common in medical offices and hospitals — and are able to slice through a digital image, allowing the operator to manipulate to peer beneath clutter like shoes, laptops, and books.

The scanners are already being tested at Boston Logan airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor. In 2018, they’ll be introduced at New York’s JFK Airport and Chicago O’Hare.

More than 107 million Americans were expected to travel by planes, trains or automobiles, beginning on Saturday Dec. 23 through Monday Jan. 1, according to travel company AAA. That would make this year the highest year-end travel volume on record, and a 3.1 percent increase from travel last year.

A person on a bike who was struck by a car in West Haven is in critical condition. 

Police said the collision happened in the area of Derby Avenue and Yale Avenue. 

Lanes are expected to be closed as police investigate. 

No other information was immediately available. 

A woman shot in New Haven on Thursday night is in critical condition, police said. 

The 56-year-old woman was shot on the front steps of her house on Greenwood Street near Sylvan Avenue around 8:50 p.m.

Police did not release any suspect information. 

The victim is in critical condition. 

No other information was immediately available. 

There’s a new Christmas tree in downtown Waterbury that’s getting a lot of attention because no one knows who put it up.

At the intersection of South Main and Bank Streets in downtown Waterbury, there’s a nine-foot tree on a makeshift stand. It’s decorated with tinsel, bows and ornaments.

“It’s an odd place to put it,” said Francis Baptiste of New Britain. “It’s small and not very shapely.” But I guess you have to put the Christmas spirit somewhere.”

It popped up in the past few days. And no one seems to know how it got there.

“It’s a mystery,” Mark Cheezic of Waterbury said. “One day it just showed up and that’s it.”

There’s speculation someone put up that tree because there is no longer a tree at the Waterbury Green.

The city removed the tree a couple years ago when it renovated the green and moved the lighting ceremony to Library Park.

“I came here many years for the lighting of the tree. My parents used to bring us down here,” said John Secula from Waterbury.

To some, it’s not about how this new little tree looks, but more about what it represents.

“Christmas spirit no matter what,” Baptiste said. “No matter where you go. We need it now for the holidays especially in this world today.”

There are indications that Connecticut’s crumbling concrete crisis may not stop at the state line, the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters have found.

How widespread this issue is just north of the border with Massachusetts remains the question.

Russell Dupere of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, said he had no idea he had a problem with his basement until he had to gut paneling and drywall after a hot water heater leak. He had engineers visually inspect it and they told him he may have "a Connecticut issue."

Dupere was aware of the crumbling concrete crisis a few miles to the south in Connecticut, where 664 homeowners and counting have reported to the state their basements must get replaced, sometimes costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars because most insurers won't cover it. Dupere then got someone to drill and test several core samples from the basement.

The test came back and said the basement walls had a pyrrhotite concentration approaching 25 percent.

Pyrrhotite is a naturally occurring mineral that when exposed to air and water can cause concrete to crack slowly from the inside out, according to experts.

Dupere said an estimate to replace his basement would cost $350,000 and his insurer denied his claim for coverage.

Dupere does not know who poured his basement in 1990, however, it sits in a 20-mile radius of the now-defunct J.J. Mottes company in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. The family that owned J.J. Mottes has said for years it made concrete using aggregate stone from Becker's Quarry in Willington, Connecticut, another business it owns.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, pyrrhotite is rare and Becker's Quarry is one of the only places where pyrrhotite is found. Contractors have told the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters concrete can only be delivered about twenty miles from its source. It allows for enough time for the concrete to be mixed and delivered within the 90-minute window before it begins to set, per industry standards.

No one from the former J.J. Mottes company would comment for NBC Connecticut’s Massachusetts story, but in the past, it has said its concrete that failed in Connecticut was not installed properly.

There are people in just north of the Connecticut-Massachusetts border who have photos or documents that appear to show homeowners had concrete poured by J.J. Mottes and their basements are cracking, the homeowners said.

One of those Massachusetts homeowners is a person who owned a home in East Longmeadow. Real estate agent, John Wynne, said his client’s house was valued at $400,000 before cracking was discovered and the home ended up selling it for roughly half that amount.

”My client was devastated,” Wynne said.

So far, between talking with homeowners and local governments in 14 Western Massachusetts towns, the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters have been able to confirm at least three municipalities where homes with crumbling basements have been found, though at this point none of the towns can definitively say it's the same problem as the one in Connecticut or that the basements were poured by J.J. Mottes. Six towns said they have no reports of crumbling basements. Another five have not responded to NBC Connecticut requests for comment.

Homeowners like Dupere hope local, state and federal leaders study up on the problem quickly and take lessons learned by their neighbors to the south.

“Connecticut has so many people that are public about this issue and know they have the issue that I think that's really helped down there. Here there are so few people that have found out about it yet that it's difficult to get anything to move,” Dupere.

Dupere’s town is in State Senator Eric Lesser’s district who called the situation horrible.

“This is a horrible situation that many people, including some of my constituents, have found themselves in. We need to make sure the public is protected, homeowners are protected and their property is protected. Affected homeowners must receive compensation,” Lesser said.

One town manager in Western Massachusetts, when talking about Connecticut leaders dealing with the crumbling concrete issue said “misery loves company” when it comes to the crumbling foundations issue and he may be right. Staffers from elected offices in Connecticut have privately told the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters that if this becomes a two state problem, it may be easier to get federal help, which so far, has been hard to come by.

The Bridge Street on-ramp is shutting down indefinitely on Saturday as construction on the southbound side of the Gold Star Bridge in New London continues, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT DOT) said.

In the face of gridlock headaches, the hope is that shutting down the on-ramp will improve traffic flow. Bridge Street traffic will be detoured to Long Hill Road (Route 12) and then onto the Interstate 95 southbound on-ramp.

North Street traffic will detour to Meridian Street, Brandegee Avenue (Route 349) and then to the I-95 south on-ramp.

"I think that’s a good idea because the people trying to merge on aren’t waiting for the other people to come on and they’re causing accidents," driver Trissy Poitras of Groton said.

State police confirmed there have been three accidents in the area of the southbound side of the bridge in the last two days. CT DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said one of the crashes this morning was at the Bridge Street ramp and had something to do with merging onto the highway.

"Not everybody is willing to work together to make the traffic go as smoothly," driver Margaret Lemontagne of Mystic said.

West Haven Police are alerting the public about streets that will soon be blocked off by the proposed site of The Haven mall.

This comes as most of the boarded-up homes have yet to be demolished and some residents still wonder whether the project will bring the economic benefits they’ve been promised.

New Mayor Nancy Rossi told NBC Connecticut she has a meeting in January with The Haven’s developers to go over a timetable for demolition and construction.

In the meantime, a popular restaurant has been given a few more months to stay open.

“I wish they could stay forever,” Angela Invernale of West Haven said. “Build the mall around them or something.”

The grill at Nick’s Luncheonette will still prepare breakfast and lunch until March 31 after the owner worked out an extension with the mayor’s office and the developers.

“I’m very happy,” Nick Milas, who has been in business for 26 years, said. “Thanks to the mayor, to Luis Esposito and developer [Matt] Armstrong to let us stay a little bit longer.”

Longtime customers Bill Marcks said he has been coming almost every day of the week knowing the plan is to knock Nick’s down in order to build a luxury mall with 60 stores, seven restaurants and a waterfront promenade.

“I’m not crazy about it and I don’t see it really in this area,” Marcks said. “Especially down here it’s too congested as it is.”

Buddy Smith said he worries there will only be more congestion when police set up barriers in a few weeks at Elm and Water Streets, Main and Water Streets and two roads connecting First Avenue and Water Streets.

“It’s going to be a little disheartening going around everything,” Smith said.

Police are blocking the streets because the developer raised concerns about illegal dumping, Mayor Rossi said.

“If they think they need to do that, I trust in their judgement,” Michael Invernale of West Haven said.

A majority of the boarded-up homes the developer purchased from families are still standing.

“When they started tearing things down things down it was right around election time and then after the election time I don’t see nothing being torn down anymore,” Smith said.

Angela Invernale and her father Michael said they aren’t sold on the redevelopment project that is supposed to create more than a thousand jobs and generate millions of dollars in tax revenue.

“Even if they do put up the mall I’m not sure how much its really going help us as a city,” Angela said.

“I don’t see a high-end mall working in this area,” Michael added. “I really don’t, I think it is going to end up housing.”

For now, the loyal customers will enjoy a few more meals at Nick’s.

“He might get something,” Marcks said. “I hope he does because we’re all going to follow.”

Milas said he would like to stay in business in West Haven, but he is still looking for a new location for his luncheonette.

A single father who became homeless while taking care of his four young sons was surprised with a temporary home, a standing reservation at a local restaurant, a car for his family, and tickets to a game by his favorite NFL team -- all thanks to the New Jersey community who rallied around their beloved former football star. 

Mike Hudson was the star football player at North Hunterdon High School in Annandale, where former classmates still remember him as an "all-around nice guy." 

After high school, Hudson stayed in his hometown of Clinton, New Jersey, and worked at a local factory. He had four sons, including twin 10-year-old boys -- one of whom has Fragile X syndrome -- and then separated from his wife. Hudson, who by then was working part-time to take care of his sons, went to live with his father along with the boys. 

He returned home from work one day earlier this fall to find his father's house padlocked by the county. In an instant, Hudson and his family became homeless, and they entered a turbulent period of going from hotel to couches to an RV. 

"At first they thought it was kind of cool to be in other places," Hudson said of his young sons. "And then after awhile, they were just like, 'We want our home, please.'" 

Even so, the boys remained resilient through those rough weeks. 

"We tried to keep everything as normal as possible within those parameters," Hudson told News 4. And his sons' school was extremely supportive: "Everybody went above and beyond." 

Hudson's youngest son Devon, a fifth-grader who also plays football, told his best friend at school, Jack, that his family had become homeless. He begged Jack not to tell his parents. Naturally, Jack went home and promptly told his mother.

That mom was Debbie DeLorenzo, the star cheerleader at North Hunterdon High while Hudson was the football star, and an old friend from their Pop Warner days. She immediately sprang into action, borrowing a trailer for Hudson and his boys to stay in for a few weeks. One ask turned into a few dozen on Facebook, and then became a full-fledged fundraising campaign on GoFundMe.

"It was around homecoming, so our class rallied, then the town did, raising almost $30,000," said Barbara Martin, an old classmate who now lives in Washington, D.C. 

The local Italian restaurant kicked in with a standing reservation for a month for the family, and the local car dealer chipped in with a cheap car that would hold the five of them. With the rest of the money, DeLorenzo found a small house in town and prepaid rent for a year.

"She was just relentless -- it was incredible what she did," Hudson said. "It was completely overwhelming." 

Martin, a public relations executive, reached out to the NFL Players' Association, hoping for a jersey from the Atlanta Falcons -- Hudson's favorite team since his high school days -- as a gift that he could perhaps hang in his new home. 

"Once they heard the whole story, they were like, 'Yeah, I think we could do a little better than that,'" said Martin.

Former Falcons quarterback DJ Shockley wound up recording a video message  inviting the whole family to the Falcons game on New Year's Eve. Delta Airlines is flying the Hudsons out from New Jersey, and the team will take care of transportation, meals and hotel.

Shockley, whose brother also has Fragile X syndrome, will give the family a private tour of the stadium, where they will watch the game from the sidelines.

DeLorenzo, Martin and other hometown friends showed up at Hudson's home to surprise him with the news last week. Cellphone video captured the stunned reaction by Hudson and his boys as they watched Shockley's invitation. 

Hudson's oldest son -- who also now plays football at North Hunterdon -- teased his father, "You're going to cry!"

He didn't cry. But clearly moved, the dad said, "This kind of stuff doesn't happen. Doesn't happen for us. We've been through a lot." 

"I'm very appreciative of everything that everybody has done. People I don't even know have done things -- every day is like Christmas for the last couple of months. Especially today," he said. 

When she first set up the page with the initial goal of raising $10,000, DeLorenzo wrote, "I have known this family for most of my life, as have most of you. He is a good man with a good heart." 

"Mike has always been kind, caring, funny, giving, non-judgmental and always strived to do the right thing," she wrote. "His mother, who has passed, would be so proud of him. People like Mike are rare. If only more people were like Mike, this world would be much different." 

The responses poured in: "Always had a soft spot for you and your boys"; "Mike, I love you so much. You were truly one of the shining lights and knights of high school for me"; "Mike, please keep your head up and don't be so humble. Accept the help from others for you have touched all of our hearts with your humor and smiles over the years." 

Now Hudson will spend the holidays in a home with his four sons, who are ecstatic about heading out for the upcoming Falcons game.

"They can't wait," he said. "We talk about it every day. They just can't wait to experience that." 

A New Britain couple has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty after someone brought their emaciated Shar-Pie mix with a severe skin condition to animal control, according to police.

Police learned about the dog on May 24.

They said they received a call just after 10 p.m. that day from someone who reported finding an emaciated tan and white Shar-Pei mix on Willow Street in New Britain and it needed a veterinarian, according to court paperwork.

At the request of police, the woman brought the dog to Connecticut Veterinary Center in West Hartford.

Police later determined that the woman who called them knew the dog’s owners and she told them she didn't want to be involved when police asked if she took the dog from the owners because it needed care, according to court paperwork.

When the dog was taken to the vet, he was barely able to walk and each step looked uncomfortable, according to the police report. He was also so thin that his ribs and hips were protruding.

A veterinarian diagnosed the dog with a severe case of mange, a painful condition caused by mites that can be treated with medication. 

In the event that he had not been brought to animal control and fed, the dog’s organs would likely have begun to shut down from starvation within just a few days, the veterinarian told police.

On May 26, soon after the dog was brought to authorities, the dog pound in New Britain received a phone call from Emily Vazquez, of New Britain, who said she was a friend of the person who brought the dog in, fell in love with him and was interested in adopting him, according to police.

She then filled out an application.

In the hopes of identifying the dog’s owner, police posted a photo of the dog on Facebook with information on where he was found. (WARNING: The photo is disturbing.)

A veterinarian then reached out to them with information from a client who reported knowing where the dog lived and the conditions he was kept in, according to the police report.

Police later determined that Emily Vazquez, now 21, and her 23-year-old husband, Emmanuel Vazquez, were the owners of the dog.

When police spoke with him, Emmanuel Vazquez told them he “knew" they "were going to get in trouble” when his wife filed the application to adopt the dog, according to police.

He went on to tell police that they had just gotten the dog and he was in bad shape when they got him, according to police.

However, he was evasive about who they got the dog from and said someone they knew would verify that they’d tried to get help for the dog.

Emily Vazquez then called police and admitted to lying to them, police said. She also said they’d had the dog for about four months and he had a skin condition when they got him.

However, someone who reported having seen photos of the dog from earlier contradicted that, according to police.

Police said it appears the couple had not taken the dog to the vet and instead tried to treat his ailments by giving him baths. 

Then there was the issue of the dog's emaciated condition.

Emily Vazquez claimed the dog had stopped eating, but others told police the dog had a healthy appetite when given food and thought he was not being fed, according to police.

After being hospitalized for around 17 days, the dog was transformed and was active, playful and affectionate, according to police.

Charges were filed against the couple and they were arrested earlier this week.

They were both released on a promise to appear and are due in court on Jan. 2, according to online court records. It's not clear if either has an attorney.

On the orders of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Justice Department prosecutors have begun asking FBI agents to explain the evidence they found in a now dormant criminal investigation into a controversial uranium deal that critics have linked to Bill and Hillary Clinton, multiple law enforcement officials told NBC News.

The interviews with FBI agents are part of the Justice Department's effort to fulfill a promise an assistant attorney general made to Congress last month to examine whether a special counsel was warranted to look into what has become known as the Uranium One deal, a senior Justice Department official said.

At issue is a 2010 transaction in which the Obama administration allowed the sale of U.S. uranium mining facilities to Russia's state atomic energy company. Hillary Clinton was secretary of state at the time, and the State Department was one of nine agencies that agreed to approve the deal after finding no threat to U.S. national security.

Hillary Clinton has denied playing any role in the decision by the State Department to approve the sale, and the State Department official who approved it has said Clinton did not intervene in the matter. That hasn't stopped some Republicans, including President Trump, from calling the arrangement corrupt — and urging that Clinton be investigated.

An FBI spokesman declined to comment.

Police in Woodbridge are investigating after several packages were stolen from front porches on Wednesday afternoon and they have released video in hopes of making an arrest. 

Several UPS, FedEx and U.S. Postal Services packages were stolen between noon and 3 p.m. on Wednesday, according to police. 

Investigators have security camera footage from one of the victims and it shows a four-door tan Oldsmobile Alero with a spoiler and a plastic bag over the driver’s side window. It appears to have Connecticut license plates. 

The video shows two people in the vehicle – and the front-seat passenger gets out of the car and rings the doorbell. When he believes no one is home, he takes the packages and places them in his vehicle, police said. 

All of the incidents were in the area of Route 313, which connects New Haven to Seymour and Ansonia. 

Police are trying to find the vehicle and the people inside it. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Woodbridge Police Department’s Investigative Services Unit 203-287-2511 Ext 113 or 118.

A single father who became homeless while taking care of his four young sons was surprised with a temporary home, a standing reservation at a local restaurant, a car for his family, and tickets to a game by his favorite NFL team -- all thanks to the New Jersey community who rallied around their beloved former football star. 

Mike Hudson was the star football player at North Hunterdon High School in Annandale, where former classmates still remember him as an "all-around nice guy." 

After high school, Hudson stayed in his hometown of Clinton, New Jersey, and worked at a local factory. He had four sons, including twin 10-year-old boys -- one of whom has Fragile X syndrome -- and then separated from his wife. Hudson, who by then was working part-time to take care of his sons, went to live with his father along with the boys. 

He returned home from work one day earlier this fall to find his father's house padlocked by the county. In an instant, Hudson and his family became homeless, and they entered a turbulent period of going from hotel to couches to an RV. 

"At first they thought it was kind of cool to be in other places," Hudson said of his young sons. "And then after awhile, they were just like, 'We want our home, please.'" 

Even so, the boys remained resilient through those rough weeks. 

"We tried to keep everything as normal as possible within those parameters," Hudson told News 4. And his sons' school was extremely supportive: "Everybody went above and beyond." 

Hudson's youngest son Devon, a fifth-grader who also plays football, told his best friend at school, Jack, that his family had become homeless. He begged Jack not to tell his parents. Naturally, Jack went home and promptly told his mother.

That mom was Debbie DeLorenzo, the star cheerleader at North Hunterdon High while Hudson was the football star, and an old friend from their Pop Warner days. She immediately sprang into action, borrowing a trailer for Hudson and his boys to stay in for a few weeks. One ask turned into a few dozen on Facebook, and then became a full-fledged fundraising campaign on GoFundMe.

"It was around homecoming, so our class rallied, then the town did, raising almost $30,000," said Barbara Martin, an old classmate who now lives in Washington, D.C. 

The local Italian restaurant kicked in with a standing reservation for a month for the family, and the local car dealer chipped in with a cheap car that would hold the five of them. With the rest of the money, DeLorenzo found a small house in town and prepaid rent for a year.

"She was just relentless -- it was incredible what she did," Hudson said. "It was completely overwhelming." 

Martin, a public relations executive, reached out to the NFL Players' Association, hoping for a jersey from the Atlanta Falcons -- Hudson's favorite team since his high school days -- as a gift that he could perhaps hang in his new home. 

"Once they heard the whole story, they were like, 'Yeah, I think we could do a little better than that,'" said Martin.

Former Falcons quarterback DJ Shockley wound up recording a video message  inviting the whole family to the Falcons game on New Year's Eve. Delta Airlines is flying the Hudsons out from New Jersey, and the team will take care of transportation, meals and hotel.

Shockley, whose brother also has Fragile X syndrome, will give the family a private tour of the stadium, where they will watch the game from the sidelines.

DeLorenzo, Martin and other hometown friends showed up at Hudson's home to surprise him with the news last week. Cellphone video captured the stunned reaction by Hudson and his boys as they watched Shockley's invitation. 

Hudson's oldest son -- who also now plays football at North Hunterdon -- teased his father, "You're going to cry!"

He didn't cry. But clearly moved, the dad said, "This kind of stuff doesn't happen. Doesn't happen for us. We've been through a lot." 

"I'm very appreciative of everything that everybody has done. People I don't even know have done things -- every day is like Christmas for the last couple of months. Especially today," he said. 

When she first set up the page with the initial goal of raising $10,000, DeLorenzo wrote, "I have known this family for most of my life, as have most of you. He is a good man with a good heart." 

"Mike has always been kind, caring, funny, giving, non-judgmental and always strived to do the right thing," she wrote. "His mother, who has passed, would be so proud of him. People like Mike are rare. If only more people were like Mike, this world would be much different." 

The responses poured in: "Always had a soft spot for you and your boys"; "Mike, I love you so much. You were truly one of the shining lights and knights of high school for me"; "Mike, please keep your head up and don't be so humble. Accept the help from others for you have touched all of our hearts with your humor and smiles over the years." 

Now Hudson will spend the holidays in a home with his four sons, who are ecstatic about heading out for the upcoming Falcons game.

"They can't wait," he said. "We talk about it every day. They just can't wait to experience that." 

A New Britain couple has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty after someone brought their emaciated Shar-Pie mix with a severe skin condition to animal control, according to police.

Police learned about the dog on May 24.

They said they received a call just after 10 p.m. that day from someone who reported finding an emaciated tan and white Shar-Pei mix on Willow Street in New Britain and it needed a veterinarian, according to court paperwork.

At the request of police, the woman brought the dog to Connecticut Veterinary Center in West Hartford.

Police later determined that the woman who called them knew the dog’s owners and she told them she didn't want to be involved when police asked if she took the dog from the owners because it needed care, according to court paperwork.

When the dog was taken to the vet, he was barely able to walk and each step looked uncomfortable, according to the police report. He was also so thin that his ribs and hips were protruding.

A veterinarian diagnosed the dog with a severe case of mange, a painful condition caused by mites that can be treated with medication. 

In the event that he had not been brought to animal control and fed, the dog’s organs would likely have begun to shut down from starvation within just a few days, the veterinarian told police.

On May 26, soon after the dog was brought to authorities, the dog pound in New Britain received a phone call from Emily Vazquez, of New Britain, who said she was a friend of the person who brought the dog in, fell in love with him and was interested in adopting him, according to police.

She then filled out an application.

In the hopes of identifying the dog’s owner, police posted a photo of the dog on Facebook with information on where he was found. (WARNING: The photo is disturbing.)

A veterinarian then reached out to them with information from a client who reported knowing where the dog lived and the conditions he was kept in, according to the police report.

Police later determined that Emily Vazquez, now 21, and her 23-year-old husband, Emmanuel Vazquez, were the owners of the dog.

When police spoke with him, Emmanuel Vazquez told them he “knew" they "were going to get in trouble” when his wife filed the application to adopt the dog, according to police.

He went on to tell police that they had just gotten the dog and he was in bad shape when they got him, according to police.

However, he was evasive about who they got the dog from and said someone they knew would verify that they’d tried to get help for the dog.

Emily Vazquez then called police and admitted to lying to them, police said. She also said they’d had the dog for about four months and he had a skin condition when they got him.

However, someone who reported having seen photos of the dog from earlier contradicted that, according to police.

Police said it appears the couple had not taken the dog to the vet and instead tried to treat his ailments by giving him baths. 

Then there was the issue of the dog's emaciated condition.

Emily Vazquez claimed the dog had stopped eating, but others told police the dog had a healthy appetite when given food and thought he was not being fed, according to police.

After being hospitalized for around 17 days, the dog was transformed and was active, playful and affectionate, according to police.

Charges were filed against the couple and they were arrested earlier this week.

They were both released on a promise to appear and are due in court on Jan. 2, according to online court records. It's not clear if either has an attorney.

Police in Woodbridge are investigating after several packages were stolen from front porches on Wednesday afternoon and they have released video in hopes of making an arrest. 

Several UPS, FedEx and U.S. Postal Services packages were stolen between noon and 3 p.m. on Wednesday, according to police. 

Investigators have security camera footage from one of the victims and it shows a four-door tan Oldsmobile Alero with a spoiler and a plastic bag over the driver’s side window. It appears to have Connecticut license plates. 

The video shows two people in the vehicle – and the front-seat passenger gets out of the car and rings the doorbell. When he believes no one is home, he takes the packages and places them in his vehicle, police said. 

All of the incidents were in the area of Route 313, which connects New Haven to Seymour and Ansonia. 

Police are trying to find the vehicle and the people inside it. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Woodbridge Police Department’s Investigative Services Unit 203-287-2511 Ext 113 or 118.

A Bristol police officer shot a dog that attacked him on Thursday.

Two officers attempted to serve an arrest warrant at a home on Broad Street when the dog ran out from behind the house, according to police.

The dog, described as a large bull mastiff-pit bull mix, began to growl and bit one of the officers on the arm. The officer was able to free his arm, but the dog appeared ready to attack the officer again, police said.

The officer drew his weapon and shot the dog once.

The dog ran away, but the officers found it and an animal control officer took the animal to an emergency veterinarian, police said.

The officer who was bitten was treated for a minor injury to his left arm.

The condition of the dog is not known.