In Bella Vista four-legged friends are helping the community control its geese population. Golf course crews are using two special dogs to keep them off the courses. Supervisors say it’s been the best solution yet.
For course supervisors T.J. Weimers and Reed Holly, every day is 'bring your pet to work day.' They're supervisors at Bella Vista's golf courses; and every day you'll find Gus and Bolt right by their side keeping geese, their feathers and droppings of the courses. But for these guys, it’s not a job.
“He loves chasing geese,” says Holly. “And whenever he gets on the course he's at work, he's all business then. And the rest of the time he's just a pup.”
Bolt just joined the team a few months ago. He's a Border Collie; the dog is often breeded especially to help fight geese. He joins Gus, a Labrador, who's been doing it for years. His owner says he's seen a difference.
“You can certainly tell the difference in the numbers that you see,” says Wiemers. “The goose droppings the feathers the mess that they make, it’s not there anymore.”
Right now the dogs are helping to fight off a flock of about 150 geese. Crews say unattended, they could leave about 100,000 pounds of droppings in a year. Golf course crews have been trying to keep geese off the greens for years and say the two dogs have been their best line of defense.
Golf crews say they've tried decoys, flashing lights, even lasers to keep the geese away. They say not only are the dogs effective, but practical.
“With the decoys you know you can spend anywhere from $100 to $200 a decoy,” says Golf Maintenance Manager Casey Crittenden. “Then there’s the time involved with setting the decoys out.”
The dogs head out every morning chasing the geese. And golf crews say they've become a part of their team and their family.
“He's just a lot of fun to have at work,” Holly says. “And the POA gets rid of their geese and I get to have a dog at work so it’s kind of a win win.”
Gus is seven-years-old and has been helping on the course for the last four years. Bolt has been helping chase geese for the last four months.
