Photos by Annie Flanzraich/Nevada Appeal News Service A goose wades the water of Burnt Cedar Beach at Lake Tahoe.
Her name is Claire, and she's part of an elite team of canines trained to strike fear into the hearts of geese at Incline Village's beaches.
Armed with an orange vest, keen determination and enthusiasm, Claire is among a group of 13 dogs that has made the sandy shores safe for bare feet for about 10 years.
Before setting out on the chase Tuesday morning, Claire plays ball with her owner, Nick Langkamp.
Focused and determined, she single-mindedly tracks the ball each time Langkamp throws it. After the final throw, it's time to get down to business.
"Want to go to work?" he asks.
Claire's ears perk up, she looks toward Tahoe's blue waters and for the migratory feathered invaders that come from above them.
She's trained, she's ready and the geese know it.
"The geese know the truck," Langkamp said. "When I drive up in it she just sticks her head out the window and they run away."
On the way to Ski Beach, Claire weaves between trees and picnic benches, her black and brown fur-covered body making its way toward the sand.
Upon arrival, the geese are gone, but Claire still stands at the ready with her nose pointed toward the water.
A fowl problem
About a decade ago the beaches were covered with geese and their droppings, said Incline Village General Improvement District Parks Superintendent Steven Phillips.
"It's like you're running cattle," Phillips said. "It's such a mess and it's such a hassle to clean up."
An adult Canada goose can produce up to 3 pounds of feces in a day, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior, and Tahoe's Nevada side is home to 1,000 Canada geese.
Ten years ago, IVGID and the Nevada Department of Wildlife would round up 130 to 140 geese every April when the birds were molting. The birds were then tagged, given a health check and relocated to an area outside the Lake Tahoe Basin. Still, 30 percent of the birds kept coming back.
To keep that 30 percent away, Philips tried almost everything: placing balloons with menacing-looking eyes at key locations, spraying goose repellent over park facilities and using a specially-designed laser pointer to spook the birds.
But the birds kept coming back.
Until the dogs, that is.
Now it's no longer necessary to round up the birds each April.
"It has been so successful and has saved us so much money, resources and a headache," Phillips said.
Reporting for duty
Although the dogs may look like they're having fun chasing geese, they know they are on the job, Phillips said.
"When you get a dog on a leash, he knows he's going for a walk," Phillips said. "When you get his vest on, he knows he's going on goose patrol."
Being on goose patrol does have one perk - they're the only dogs allowed on Incline's beaches between April and October. The list to be on the crew is years long, Phillips said.
"I get calls quite frequently about people who say their dog would be perfect," he said. "We can only do so many dogs before it turns into a dog park."
Of the 13 dogs on the patrol, about eight of them belong to IVGID employees.
"There's a little bit of an advantage of having an employee," Phillips said. "Geese can come at any time and the employee can be on call."
With goose patrol comes responsibility and a special ID card for the dog.
"It's a program." Phillips said. "We're not just trying to sneak our dogs in here."