Geese
beware: dog handler finds insurance |
A
St. Catherine’s dog handler has found the liability insurance she needs to
continue her summer job chasing away Canada geese from St. Catharine’s green
spaces. |
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For the past three summers,
Marcedes Vallance was contracted by the city to use her trained collies --
Pride, Spencer and Bentley -- to help chase away the birds that were fouling
public areas with their droppings. |
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This spring, she was told by
the city she needed $2 million in liability insurance for one year, with the
city included in the policy. |
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At first, the University of
Guelph animal biology student learned from brokers that she could expect to pay
between $10,000 and $25,000 for the liability insurance. |
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However, Vallance, 20, is
normally paid only about $20,000 for her services, which in past years have
generally run from April to sometime in the fall. |
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"We found some insurance
and hopefully I'll be starting shortly," she said. |
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Vallance didn't want to reveal
the cost of the policy premium, but said it was "substantially less"
than the high figures earlier quoted to her. |
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There are four city properties
that her dogs have patrolled each day -- Rennie Park in Port Dalhousie, the
Municipal Golf Course, the canal walkway and Victoria Lawn Cemetery. The geese
are chased away but aren't harmed by the dogs. |
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The geese are not wanted in the
public green spaces because their droppings can be a hazard to in-line skaters
and bicyclists and some geese can be aggressive, especially to dogs. |
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Vallance said she is waiting
for the city's legal department to review her insurance policy before she can
start the goose chasing. |
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"They've also asked me to
write up a business proposal again, and (some) stipulations that they wanted me
to include," she said. |
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"I know they're working
hard, it's just a matter of getting all the loose ends together." |
A city hall official could not
be reached for comment late Wednesday afternoon.
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