BENTONVILLE -- A contest to name Bentonville's new goose dog is nearing its end.
The deadline to submit a name is 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Debbie Griffin, community relations and economic development director.
The male border collie is being trained by Flyaway Geese, and the handler needs to use the dog's name in training, Griffin said.
Suggestions can be submitted to Griffin at [email protected] or to the city's Facebook page, she said. More than 100 comments were posted to the Facebook page over the weekend, Dennis Birge, city transportation director, said Monday.
The city bought the dog from Flyaway Geese, a North Carolina company that trains border collies to disperse geese and other birds at the municipal airport. The new dog will arrive in the city in a few months.
Flyaway Geese owner Rebecca Gibson said Monday two dogs -- Wyatt and Marks -- are being looked at for service in Bentonville. It hasn't been decided yet which one will be the best fit for the city, she said. It can take two to four weeks for a dog to get used to its new name, she said.
The dogs are used at airports, city parks, golf courses and military bases, Gibson said. Flyaway Geese has sold between 500 and 600 dogs over the past 23 years, she said.
Airports typically like to change the names of the dogs they receive to something aviation related or something tied to a public relations effort that involves the dog.
New handler Robin Fields is training with Greg, a 4-year-old border collie, for about 60 to 90 days before Bentonville gets its own goose dog, Gibson said. Greg arrived at the airport last month.
"Robin and Greg have been in a canoe after them and on land after them," Birge said of chasing the geese away. "It may take a little time to run them off, but it is working,"
The airport has had a geese problem for a number of years. The goal is to drive the geese away and not kill them, Birge previously said. Using a border collie is the humane way to manage the geese, Gibson said. City officials have used a variety of methods to deter the geese, with varying degrees of success, including decoys and harassing them with noise, Birge said.
Falconry was examined but is cost-prohibitive, Birge said. Officials discussed applying for a state permit to kill the geese but dropped the idea.
Geese are scarce at the airport this time of year, but that will change as spring arrives, Birge said. The goal with the dog is to work the airport property first, then expand to adjoining areas. The dog also will be used in city parks where geese gather, Birge said.
Wildlife strikes
About 183,296 wildlife strikes to civil aircraft were reported in the United States and for U.S.-registered aircraft in foreign countries from 1990-2016.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Airport Wildlife Hazards Program June 2018 report
NW News on 03/10/2020