Goose Masters to the rescue!
Really! Goose Masters! Who knew?
I worked at a lovely college campus that had a beautiful lake and lots of birds: ducks, geese, chickens (neighbors raised them, and they sometimes visited), etc. The ducks, chickens and assorted small birds were not a problem. The geese were. They left their mark, so to speak, all over the campus. It was hell on the maintenance crew, especially when we were expecting important visitors. There was endless poop patrol; I don't think it was anyone's favorite job.
As an administrator at the campus, I attended monthly Leadership Team meetings. These were painless, unlike many other meetings, mostly because the Director of Administrative Services (DAS - we had to have an acronym for everything) ran them. He is brilliant, organized, and doesn't enjoy long meetings. His best feature is his sense of humor. Thank God for a sense of humor in meetings!
At one of our Leadership Team meetings, the DAS announced that our goose poop problem would soon be solved. Goose Masters to the rescue! Per their website (see http://www.goose-masters.com/goose-dogs.html), Goose Masters uses specially trained border collies partnered with handlers. The dogs and their handlers are matched so that their temperaments compliment one another. Border Collies love to swim, an important trait when dealing with geese. They don't hurt the geese, they intimidate them with their very presence. According to the Website, "No other breed of dog possesses the trait we call the “eye” of the Border Collie...only the Border Collie has the “eye” of a wolf and the instinct to determinedly “work” or stalk the Canada geese instead of attacking them. The geese tire of being pestered and simply choose to move to another place in order to find a safer haven."
I can attest to the success of the Goose Master method. I no longer had to constantly look down at the sidewalk to avoid goose poop once the Goose Masters got to work. I know the maintenance folks were very happy that they could spend their time on more important things, like electricity and plumbing. But, those are stories for another day.
I worked at a lovely college campus that had a beautiful lake and lots of birds: ducks, geese, chickens (neighbors raised them, and they sometimes visited), etc. The ducks, chickens and assorted small birds were not a problem. The geese were. They left their mark, so to speak, all over the campus. It was hell on the maintenance crew, especially when we were expecting important visitors. There was endless poop patrol; I don't think it was anyone's favorite job.
As an administrator at the campus, I attended monthly Leadership Team meetings. These were painless, unlike many other meetings, mostly because the Director of Administrative Services (DAS - we had to have an acronym for everything) ran them. He is brilliant, organized, and doesn't enjoy long meetings. His best feature is his sense of humor. Thank God for a sense of humor in meetings!
At one of our Leadership Team meetings, the DAS announced that our goose poop problem would soon be solved. Goose Masters to the rescue! Per their website (see http://www.goose-masters.com/goose-dogs.html), Goose Masters uses specially trained border collies partnered with handlers. The dogs and their handlers are matched so that their temperaments compliment one another. Border Collies love to swim, an important trait when dealing with geese. They don't hurt the geese, they intimidate them with their very presence. According to the Website, "No other breed of dog possesses the trait we call the “eye” of the Border Collie...only the Border Collie has the “eye” of a wolf and the instinct to determinedly “work” or stalk the Canada geese instead of attacking them. The geese tire of being pestered and simply choose to move to another place in order to find a safer haven."
I can attest to the success of the Goose Master method. I no longer had to constantly look down at the sidewalk to avoid goose poop once the Goose Masters got to work. I know the maintenance folks were very happy that they could spend their time on more important things, like electricity and plumbing. But, those are stories for another day.
I really enjoyed watching the border collies scare off the geese, and admired how they could scare them away, without mauling them.
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