Patch is a Perfect Employee
Any worker who reports five days a week, is praised for doing a superb job and has never called in sick is worth their proverbial weight in gold.
Patch, the Huntington School District’s border collie is just such an “employee.” He’s been on the job since December 2000 and lives with Paul Rispoli, the district’s director of facilities. Patch has his duties nailed down pat and meets every expectation.
With hundreds of Canadian geese creating a mess and generally becoming a real nuisance, the bill for an outside contractor to bring a border collie onto school grounds several times per day had risen to about $14,000 per year.
“It made no sense so we decided to go for our own dog,” said Mr. Rispoli, who found a breeder in California that ultimately shipped Patch to the district. “He’s a great worker,” Mr. Rispoli said.
Without efforts to control them, the geese can destroy grassy areas and leave behind significant fecal deposits. Patch has helped turn around a troublesome situation in Huntington.
“He eats cheap and never complains,” joked Mr. Rispoli. “He’s the perfect employee.” Patch patrols Huntington High School, J. Taylor Finley Middle School, Jack Abrams Intermediate School and Washington Primary School each day. Those four schools seem to be magnets for Canadian geese.
Border collies have been bred to herd sheep. Canadian geese view them as predators. “It’s gotten to the point where Patch doesn’t even have to get out of the truck on many days,” Mr. Rispoli said. “When I pull up, the geese see the truck and they know he’s in it. They just fly away.”
Patch is now 12 years old and is starting to slow down a little bit. “He’s not quite as enthusiastic, but he still gets the job done,” Mr. Rispoli said. “He has a few years left.”
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