Posted on 05/17/2015 8:37:24 AM PDT by JoeProBono
WASHINGTON -- U.S. National Park Service officials fed up with goose droppings on the National Mall in Washington are calling for backup -- the four-legged enforcers known as the Geese Police.
Parks officials announced Thursday the Geese Police -- who are not actual police but rather a group of border collies trained to ward off trespassing water fowl -- will be patrolling the National Mall to keep the geese from befouling National Mall landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial.
The officials said just one goose can leave behind 2-3 pounds of feces in a single day and the unwanted excrement can damage pipes and filters in the reflecting pool as well as posing a health nuisance for visitors.
David Marks, founder of Geese Police, said he expects the goose problem to subside after a few weeks of work by his dogs.
"A problem that has been a problem for 8, 9, 10 years usually takes us 6 to 8 weeks to get a handle on," Marcks told NBC Washington.
Marcks said the dogs are trained not to be distracted by friendly humans while they're on patrol.
"The only thing he or she cares about is working," Marcks said.
The National Park Service said the geese will not be harmed by the dogs, merely chased away.
The service said the contract with Geese Police will last a year with an option to extend for four more years if officials are happy with the results.
Just had some, perfect. Perhaps you should gather them earlier.
That’s NOTHING, compared to the tons and tons of crap some Congresscritters inflict on us daily. .
I friend and golfing buddy of mine nearly lost her eye after it became severely infected from goose cr@p. She evidently had picked up her marked ball on a green in order to clean the “stuff” off of it and even though she thought her hand had been wiped clean, she later must have used her hand to wipe sweat away from her eye or forehead and less than 24 hours later was in the hospital on IV antibiotics and facing the possible loss of her eye if the infection could not be brought under control. She fortunately recovered and kept her eye and eyesight, but after that she kept a bottle of hand sanitizer and a package of bleach wipes in her golf bag and I started doing the same.
FWIW most of the geese causing the problem are not migratory geese, they are geese that stay and live in the same area year round because they have no natural predators and have many water sources like storm water management ponds and ponds on golf courses, etc., and an abundant year round food source – i.e. people feeding them. These geese have become the animal equivalent of the fat lazy people from the movie Wall-E sitting in their “Floaty Chairs” LOL!
This has been tried for years on golf courses, and most time doesn’t work.
As he explains in this video, it is not so much that the Border Collies chase and harass the geese; unlike other dog breeds like retrievers or hunting dogs, it is their stalking postures and “eyeing” them, those behaviors very similar to that of a Wolf or Coyote. While the Border Collies won’t catch and retrieve or kill the geese, the geese still see them as a dangerous predator and eventually leave for safer environs.
Canada Goose Control from Geese Police, Inc.
He also said something that I’ve heard Border Collie breeders and owners say. Some years ago I became interested in dog obedience and agility competitions after going to many as a spectator and saw that the Border Collies completely dominated the sport and thought I might want to get one.
Watch Border Collie, Tex, Win 2015 Masters Agility Championship
But as many people told me, the owners and breeders, Border Collies, while extremely intelligent and very trainable dogs, they don’t make good pets as in a “house pet”.
As one Border Collie breeder told me, “They are very high energy and need a lot of space to run and need something to do nearly all the time which is primarily to herd and or stalk off predators or many hours of structured training on a daily basis and in a high energy structured activity like agility – they need a “job”.
“And if you don’t give them what they need and are bred to do, they will become destructive and out of control out of boredom – if you keep them confined in the house or a small fenced yard, they will find something to herd – they will herd you, your children, your neighbor’s children and even your furniture. And they typically will not do well with just have a fenced yard and a once or twice a day 20 minute walk – they need “acreage” and lots of it. And if you are not as “high energy and active” and more intelligent as they are and don’t have the time to work with them for many hours each day, a Border Collie will probably not be a good fit for you or the dog.”
And I had to admit very honestly, that I wasn’t up to the task of owning one in terms of time and space. But I still love the breed love watching them in action.
I’ve been to Border Collie trials.
Unbelievable how they can herd the sheep without making a sound.
.
At what cost to the taxpayer, may I axe?
The biden solution didn't work.
I LIKE Geese!!!
I was driving down the street the other day and almost freaked out, thinking a small child was going to run into the street. It was a freaking goose! A big freaking goose!
Scared me to death.
As you may be able to tell, I am a big city slicker and dealing with the wildlife out here in the cornfields can get a little scary sometimes.
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