Long Island school recruits adorable ‘celebrity' dog to fight goose poop epidemic: ‘It's a real problem'
A Long Island school getting mercilessly bombarded with goose poop crafted a unique solution to combat the daily air raids — putting their 'celebrity' pooch on the scent.
The district of Island Trees in Levittown has recruited Tuck, a sharply trained herding Border Collie, to chase hundreds of honkers off its fields.
4 Principal Allison Ackerman with kneeling with Tuck.
Dennis A. Clark
4 The four-year-old black and white pooch, whose name is short for his home state of Kentucky, impressively follows the commands of Ackerman while on his daily duty.
Dennis A. Clark
4 Does rounds daily with a handler at all the Island Trees schools and even wags his tail in the car when approaching a flock
Dennis A. Clark
'I have seen fields completely covered, and all he does is run up, make that first turn, and clear it within 10 seconds,' Michael F. Stokes Elementary School principal Allison Ackerman told The Post of her guardian of the ruff.
'We had a lot of goose poop. Even the kids say there's less goose poop when they come in from recess … it's funny to talk about, but it's a real problem because the kids would get it on their clothes.'
The four-year-old black and white pooch, whose name is short for his home state of Kentucky, impressively follows the commands of Ackerman while on his daily duty.
'I say 'way-a-me' and that means to go all the way clockwise around the geese. And 'come-by' means goes all-the-way counterclockwise,' she explained of the poo-preventing pup who is also trained to herd sheep.
'If we want him to get a little closer to something that he's not seeing, I will say 'shh, shh shh,' and he'll keep inching up, and then I'll give the second command,' Ackerman added Friday on what was, fittingly, national take your dog to work day.
Tuck's services — he does rounds daily with a handler at all the Island Trees schools and even wags his tail in the car when approaching a flock — have become both cheaper and more effective than a professional goose clearing service the district had before acquiring him in April 2024.
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'They would clear the geese, and then the geese would figure it out and come later in the day. The district said that getting Tuck paid for itself in a year,' said Ackerman, who keeps a doggie bed and donated toys for him in her office. But she couldn't provide the cost they paid for the pooch.
'We don't see this anywhere on Long Island. … Maybe out east and on golf courses, but we have had districts now call us to see what this is all about.'
Bow wow!
Getting a goose guard at schools isn't as simple as it seems, as someone needs to keep them during school nights and on weekends.
Ackerman and her husband, who both desperately wanted a dog but felt guilty about leaving them home all day, were happy to oblige. They soon learned that Tuck's dream employee attitude didn't disappear on off days, either.
'We have to keep him working, so we find all different things,' Ackerman said, adding that he won't be alone this summer as Tuck will accompany her to school on weekdays.
'My husband taught him fetch, and we really feel that it's like getting prey, so he gets it and he brings it back. We teach him frisbee, different chores around the house, and how to identify his toys.'
Beyond his role as the best groundskeeper in Island Trees history, Tuck is also 'a celebrity' among the student body.
'I knew people would like him, but the way that they love him and how he brings joy to them is something that I didn't really expect,' Ackerman added.
4 Getting a goose guard at schools isn't as simple as it seems, as someone needs to keep them during school nights and on weekends.
Dennis A. Clark
Meanwhile, the teachers love interacting with Tuck just as much as the students.
'When we're having a really hard day, you can't be that upset when you see a dog rolling [around] and wanting a back rub.'
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