A dog named Katt is helping to keep the geese moving and the parks clean.

Canada geese are beautiful, animated animals commonly seen anywhere in the Metroparks where there is a body of water. While most of these international migratory birds are passing through, there are resident populations, too. They return to where they were hatched to make their nests and rear they goslings.

Too many geese in one place can be messy, and the territorial birds can become surly, especially when raising their young. For these geese, some management is necessary.

Metroparks engages the services of a professional goose control company that uses dogs to disperse the birds, keeping them from concentrating. It's a humane and effective method to keep the parks and waters clean.

In this video, Tim Gallaher, Metroparks natural resources manager, and dog handler Michael Sullivan from Ohio Geese Control explain and demonstrate the purpose and process of this interesting tool in natural resources management.

Katt, the dog in the video, was at work recently at Middlegrounds and the future Glass City Metropark on the downtown Toledo riverfront. Some scenes were videotaped at International Park, where geese were congregating that day.

Did You Know?

The correct name of these black and white birds is Canada geese, not Canadian geese.