N.J. town calls in the dogs to evict geese

POMPTON LAKES, N.J. - Officials in this Passaic County town have called in border collies to scare away hundreds of Canada geese that have been leaving droppings in parks and ball fields - a curse that some South Jersey municipalities share.

Pompton Lakes is paying the New Jersey Wild Geese Control company about $9,600 for a three-month trial in which the border collies perform 10-minute patrols twice a day in seven areas, the Record of Bergen County reported yesterday. Each Canada goose can produce up to a pound and a half of droppings a day, the newspaper reported.

The dogs will stalk and chase the geese, but won't hurt them. "You have to condition the geese to settle somewhere else, preferably in a wildlife preserve," company owner Robin Wharrie said. "In a town like this, where there is water all over, the geese are going to be drawn back, so it's ongoing." Three rivers run through Pompton Lakes. - AP