NORTH BEND, Ore. — A small airport on the Oregon coast is taking care of its bird problems with a border collie named Filly.
Southwest Oregon Regional Airport sends the dog after the pesky Canada geese that can pose a hazard to aviation.
“She’s chased flocks of geese into the water,” said Bob Hood, the airport’s wildlife manager. “She’s really good at her job and she really likes her job.”
Filly is the third dog — officially called wildlife management canine — that Hood has trained to work at the airport.
Hood and the operations crew had used propane cannons, cracker shells, whistles and horns as scare tactics to shoo away intruders before a commercial flight struck some geese.
“There was damage to the nose of the aircraft. They smashed into the radar dome,” Hood said. “I remember seeing a goose was inside the dome.”
Nobody was hurt, but Hood said it prompted the airport executive director to ask him about the U.S. Department of Agriculture wildlife management program.
Hood started training with the American Society of Canine Trainers in 1994 and by 1997 had become a certified trainer.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires most airports to have a wildlife management program in place to be certified for commercial passenger traffic.
Hood attends an annual training seminar given by the USDA, U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife or the FAA.
The FAA and USDA have reported that from 1990 to 2003, there have been more than 50,000 aircraft damaged by wildlife strikes, with 124 people injured and eight killed.
Since the North Bend airport joined the wildlife management program, the number of wildlife strikes dropped from several annually to one or two a year, Hood said.
“The birds are so dangerous to airplanes, you have to do something,” he said.
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