A four-legged assistant recently joined the Town’s efforts to deter geese from Prospect Park.
Throughout August, the Town of Halton Hills has contracted the services of a specially-trained dog to help humanely scare geese out of the Acton park where goose droppings had taken over, making it hard for local residents to use the amenities.
The pup also made an appearance at Dominion Gardens Park in Georgetown, but was discontinued after a few days since no geese were spotted.
The canine is one of the many new measures being employed after the Town had to double its cleaning efforts at Prospect Park’s splash pad because of the geese.
The geese have long been a problem in the park, often cited as a reason for the high e-coli content in Fairy Lake’s water. This year, that problem spread to the splash pad.
Based on feedback from the public, Mark Covert, the director of public works for the Town, said earlier this summer an additional daily cleaning session was added for the splash pad because of the goose droppings.
The Town employed some other methods to move the geese away from the splash pad, including adding barricades around it and a strobe light at night. While those methods were producing some positive results, the Town also brought in a company that uses trained dogs to discourage geese from spending time in the park.
The dog makes the rounds in the park, usually before 9 a.m. several times a week.
