Page 251 - Showsight April 2013

By Lia Bijsterveld
H alley (Fanfare Jetset-
ter Can RN AGN
AGNJ ME CGN
HIC Am RN ME
CGC TDI) is a Bor-
der Terrier owned by
myself, and we live in Richmond, Brit-
ish Columbia, Canada. Halley is a very
ambitious and clever dog, as you can
see she has more letters after her name
than in it.
A Snow Goose Hazer
Halley has a job with the City of Rich-
mond (in British Columbia, Canada) as a
Snow Goose Hazer. Each fall, an estimated
100,000 of the white birds fly 4,000 kilo-
meters (about 2,500 miles) to the Frazer
River delta to escape their frigid winter
home in Wrangel Island, Russia.
By year’s end, the birds head farther
south to the Skagit delta before retun-
ing to Richmond in the spring, en route
to their Russian home. In Richmond,
the geese traditionally feed on intertidal
march plants, but in recent years they
moved inland, feeding on farmers’ fields,
parks, sports fields and even residential
backyard—leaving muddy, goose-poop
land behind. City officials have tried fire-
works, air pistols, lasers, military-grade
lights and professional dog handlers in a
bid to scare the birds away. The City has
also offered farmers in southwest Rich-
mond cash to grow winter cover crops
to that attract geese and keep them away
from unwanted sites.
Halley was trained and screened by a
“professional snow goose dog hazer” before
receiving her official City vest. The dogs are
allowed to run off leash when hazing geese.
The dogs should “encourage” the geese to
leave the fields for farmers’ growing winter
crops for them or for their winter grounds
by the Skagit. The photo above shows her-
ring gulls that also take advantage of the
mudd fields.
The Reading Program
The Richmond Public Library has a
program where children read to the dogs.
The children select books that they think
the dogs will like. They practice with a
teen mentor and then read the books to
the dogs. Many of the children and their
parents are nervous about dogs; however,
Halley is the dog they are more comfort-
able with because of her small size. Hal-
ley is very outgoing with people and was
thrilled that the children came to visit her.
There are children who are shy about read-
ing out loud, but know that the dogs don’t
judge their performance.
Halley has been taking part in the
Reading to Dogs program in the Rich-
mond Public Library since June of 2012.
The Therapy Dogs International website
describes the program in the following
way, “This program encourages children
to read by providing a non-judgmental lis-
tener and furry friend to read to that won’t
laugh at them if they make a mistake or
stumble over a word, but rather lie next to
them and enjoy being read to them.
“The children learn to associate reading
with being with the dog, and begin to view
reading in a positive way. Over time, the
child’s reading ability and confidence can
improve because they are practicing their
skills, which will make them enjoy reading
even more.”
HALLEY THE BORDER TERRIER
ShowSight Magazine, April 2013 • 251