Border Collies Help Keep Beaches Clean
According to this article from the Chicago Tribune, border collies help reduce contamination levels at beaches by chasing away sea gulls:
The dogs, who are trained to distinguish gulls from other varieties of birds, are used from dawn to dusk to chase away gulls, whose droppings contribute to E. Coli contamination, studies have shown. They are being used again this summer seven days a week at 63rd Street and on a part-time basis at 57th Street and South Shore, said Zvez Kubat, a Chicago Park District spokeswoman.
Overall, the report said, contamination levels at all the state’s beaches — defined as the percentage of beach-monitoring samples from Memorial Day to Labor Day that exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standard — was about 14 percent, slightly lower than a year earlier.
I did not know that municipalities used dogs to clear out the beaches like this. I’m sure that the border collies have fun chasing the sea gulls away too! Click here for the full story and a video.
