Trained Dogs will be Hired to Chase Pooping Geese in Cupertino Parks

Cupertino residents disgusted by poop strewn walkways at Memorial Park know who to blame.

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"I stopped bringing my children there due to the unsanitary conditions," Cupertino resident Karen Del Compare said at a city council meeting on Oct. 17.

Director of Public Works Timm Borden presented several options to council members and the 13 residents in attendance for dealing with the growing number of geese hanging out at Memorial Park and other Cupertino locations.

Borden recommended the city use trained herding dogs, at a cost of $1,500 a month, to chase away the geese. He also said the city should consider purchasing remote control vehicles and a laser as complimentary dispersal measures. Borden said he would formally present items for approval on Dec. 18 and projected that the dog "harassment" program would begin by May, 2013.

Resident Cathy Helgerson was not amused by Borden handing out stuffed geese prior to his presentation or chuckles from some council members during his talk.

"We've all gotten a really nice laugh over it, you've got your little birdies there," she said. "But ... they can take off a man's arm, and the droppings contain parasites."

Helgerson said geese were responsible for an outbreak of cryptosporidium in Milwaukee drinking water in 1993 that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, left 400,000 people ill.

Council member Rod Sinks urged the council to make the issue of goose removal a priority and warned of negative consequences.

Sinks said despite the city's best efforts to clean up before last Saturday's Diwali festival at Memorial Park, the event was negatively affected by the quantity of goose poop.

He said members of the Chamber of Commerce told him some people who bought booth space wanted their money returned because of the mess.

"I think the risk of us not dealing with this are ... residents don't use the parks anymore and, two, festival organizers might take their business elsewhere," Sinks said.

Cupertino resident Donna Axelson handed out papers to the council outlining diseases spread by geese, with symptoms ranging from rashes to blindness and death.

"I'm surprised that this room isn't filled with parents that are furious about the potential health effects," she said.

Axelson also handed out a photo showing goose droppings at the Veterans Memorial. Axelson's son Matthew was killed in Afghanistan and is one of two Navy SEALS depicted in the monument "The Guardians."

"There were some veterans that visited on Memorial day, and they were so upset at the condition," she said.

Grounds supervisor John Bisely lamented the fleeting effectiveness of previous efforts to chase the geese from Memorial Park, including dying the pond black, setting off sprinklers, and using foggers.

"Everything we've tried, they get used to," he said.

Borden echoed Bisely when he talked about the short term effect of swan decoys at Memorial Park meant to scare away geese.

"After a while, the geese just obliterated the swans," he said.

There are currently "No Feeding" signs at Memorial, but no penalties can be enforced. Council members Barry Chang, Sinks and vice mayor Orrin Mahoney all voiced support for adding monetary penalties.

Mayor Mark Santoro expressed unease with the idea of levying a fine.

"I always like to encourage our youth to interact with nature because I think they become conservators of nature in the future," he said.

Borden's report to the council was influenced by attending a "Goose Summit" on Oct. 12 with officials from neighboring cities, such as Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Campbell, who also deal with goose problems.

The meeting led him to abandon the idea of putting a rope around the pond at Memorial Park as ineffective and costly.

But Borden did say the staff will consider "egg addling," where volunteers would put oil on geese eggs at suspected nest sites at Cupertino's percolation ponds.