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Border collies protecting parks from goose poop

There is a fowl menace lurking here at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — There is a fowl menace lurking here at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah.

“Ya know, goose droppings,” said Park Manager Rich Benson.

Time for the employees of Wingin' It Goose Control to get to work. With the assistance of company owner Anne Devine and her son, Adam, the dog Mink and her colleague, Mae, have been helping curb poop pollution.

The border collies are closing the borders of the park to Canadian invaders by chasing the geese off.

“Real low and they come in from the side,” said Benson. “And it's really fun to watch.”

“It’s what they were bred to do,” said Adam Devine.

It's a special assignment to which few other canines could possibly aspire. Wally Johnson knows his dog isn’t cut out for the business.

“He'd be a bad one to hire, because he wouldn't chase them,” said Johnson.

Since they launched their mission a few weeks ago, these Sammamish sentinels have convinced hundreds of uninvited guests to keep away. It irritates, but never harms the geese.

“The birds never actually come into contact with any of the dogs.” said Adam.

By water and by land, they search and annoy to make the lake cleaner, healthier, and more hospitable to humans, including park ranger Benson.

“We love to have the geese,” said Benson. “We just want to have a few less.”

He's pretty happy with the results so far.

“No sign of any goose droppings anywhere that I could see, and that's a big change from the way it oftentimes is,” said Benson.

So if there's something fowl in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? The intrepid warriors of Wingin' It Goose Control.

Wingin’ It Goose Control (860) 460-0459, 50070 Concrete Sauk Valley Rd, Concrete, WA 98237

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