Goose Mitigation Dog

The most environmentally friendly and effective solution to goose problems is to use dogs. A daily run on the field with a border collie will send the geese elsewhere. If it is regularly repeated, they will eventually choose not to use a particular field. While there are companies that the City can hire to run dogs on our fields, it is substantially expensive to maintain this strategy in the long run. 

Based on the analysis of the options, the City concluded that there is no better way to address the goose problem than to have a dog do the work, and to have this dog on our own team where she be on our fields daily. From a cost/benefit perspective, this is far more effective than any alternative plan. It’s also considered the most humane strategy for goose removal. While this solution is often used by golf courses and private resorts, there are a few municipal governments who have also followed this strategy.

One of our Department of Public Works (DPW) staff members went to Leesburg Virginia to pick up “Vee”, our new city-owned border collie from a facility that trains dogs specifically for goose control. Much like a police dog, Vee lives in the DPW worker's home, and accompanies him at work. Vee is the City’s dog. She has been purchased with funds from our animal control revolving account. The city will cover her food and vet bills.

Vee is making daily runs on our fields to make sure to keep the geese away. We share info about Vee on our City social media accounts and on Vee's Instagram account.

Stats About Vee:
Type: Border Collie, female
Date of birth: 9/22/2018

Personality, Likes, and Dislikes:
Shy with new people and with other dogs
No storm or noise sensitivities
Clean kennel and house dog
Good eater
Can work ducks and sheep
An “Old Soul”. Tends to stick close to handler and not play with other dogs when not working