GREENSBORO, N.C. — Kuykendall’s Border Collies has trained collies for decades to be everything from an obedient pets to controlling those pesky Canada Gees to herding sheep. But this latest feather in their cap may just top the list.
Their border collies have been selected by the USDA to head over to Hawaii to the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai. “Sweep” is the border collie headed over this week to help with the NeNe geese and a particular species of Albatross called Laysan Albatross or Moli.
"They can also be a nuisance near airports where they put themselves and passengers in danger if they fly in the path of planes or any military practices. The years of experience training these dogs to handle birds is what attracted the US Department of Agriculture to use us," said owner Kara Kuykendall, "Any time you are working with endangered and protected birds, it’s stressful for both the dogs and us because we want all parties to be safe, the birds, the facility and the handlers."
The training is similar to the training they do on a daily basis with a few tweaks.
"We have to get them used to all of the noise they will experience on the runways with all the planes and other activities you would expect at a military base," continued Kuykendall, "But they have responded well and pretty soon they'll be helping keep the runways clear of any wildlife that could cause a problem for planes."