'Paw patrol' program kicks off

A wild goose chase has begun. 

On Wednesday, the city of Sandpoint launched its new off-leash dog program at City Beach. Going forward, seven permitted handlers and their dogs will be working in the park to deter geese from settling in the area. 

“The geese here produce over 300 pounds of waste a day,” said Jason Welker, Sandpoint’s community planning and development director and the coordinator of the new program. “It’s disgusting.”

Goose waste can negatively affect water quality and contain pathogens that cause disease in humans. Coordinators of the program hope the presence of permitted dogs in the park will force the estimated 100 geese residing at City Beach to relocate. 

The creation of the “Pend Oreille paw patrol” is the latest effort in the long history of Sandpoint’s waterfowl mitigation strategies. 

Geese have been relocated to unpopulated areas and deterred with coyote decoys. Permitted hunters have slain animals and flocks have been euthanized en masse. No strategy to date has been able to eliminate the City Beach goose problem. 

Sandpoint has employed dogs as waterfowl harassers in the past. In 2018, a professional handler with a trained dog was contracted by the city to patrol the park each morning before 9 a.m.  

“The police chief said that at 9 o’clock all the geese were gone, and by 9:05 they were all back,” said Welker at Wednesday’s kickoff meeting. “The geese just learned that from 9 a.m. through the rest of the day, there was no threat to them.” 

The “paw patrol” is trying a different strategy. Permitted handlers and dogs will visit the park sporadically throughout the week, which organizers hope will prevent City Beach from being a comfortable residence for the geese. 

“The randomness of this program is what we're going for. We want people here at different times of the day,” Welker said. 

Seven handlers and dogs are currently participating in the program. Each animal passed an obedience test to become permitted; dogs and handlers will wear high-visibility vests while working in the park. 

Importantly, unpermitted dogs are still prohibited at City Beach. 

“The city has worked really hard to educate the public that this is a no-dogs-allowed park, which it is all across the summer,” said Jake Wright, Sandpoint community resource officer. “We all need to keep this park dog-free except for the working animals.” 

Welker hopes to recruit more volunteers in the near future. “Our goal is to get to 12 in the first year,” he said. 

The roots of the program go back to early spring. Local Matt Lome brought forth the idea of a permitted dog team at a council meeting and, after some persistence, the concept gained traction. 

“I went there four different times,” Lome said on Wednesday of his visits to City Hall. “When I found out about the euthanizing program and all the relocation programs, it just didn't sit well with me,” he added. 

Lome encourages the community to be patient as the program progresses. “I hope that the public sees these people and allow us the trial period that we need to iron it out and get a good plan that works for everybody,” he said. 

According to Jennifer Wilburn, a resident who helped launch the program, the outcome may not be apparent until 2025. 

“The goal of it is next year, when the geese are looking for places to have to raise their young, we don't want them to feel like this is a safe place to do that,” said Wilburn. 

Time will tell if the “paw patrol” will finally solve City Beach’s goose problem. For handlers interested in certifying their dogs and volunteering in the park, instructions are available on Sandpoint’s website.

    Organizers and volunteers of the Sandpoint off-leash dog program gather at City Beach.
  

    Maya, a permitted dog in the newly assembled "paw patrol," poses for a photo.