PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 25, No. 18, April 6, 2006

Allerton adopts two dogs to aid in humane pest control

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
217-244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu

Click photo to enlarge Photo by L. Brian Stauffer Canine curators Todd Statzer, manager of Allerton Park’s Diversified Farm, will have Fred, an Australian shepherd, and Ginger, a Labrador retriever, patrol the farm twice daily to discourage wildlife from eating and damaging the farm’s crops. The two shelter dogs were adopted by the university as part of an experiment in humane methods of pest control at the park..

Staff members at Robert Allerton Park, Monticello, are hoping that some not-so-fancy footwork by two new residents will help keep the park’s wildlife in check. Fred and Ginger, two shelter dogs named in honor of dancers Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, have been adopted by the university as part of an ongoing effort to control wildlife that likes to dine on the crops grown on the park’s Diversified Farm.

In recent years, fruits and vegetables could only be grown in protected areas on the 100-acre farm as deer, raccoons, groundhogs and other woodland creatures devoured the crops, trampled the plants and dug in the plots. Staff members tried a number of nonlethal methods of pest control – including electrified fencing and repellent sprays – that achieved some success, but fencing and sprays are cost-prohibitive for covering large areas, and fences are ugly, said Jim Gortner, the park’s director of operations.

Last fall, staff members began considering using dogs as a humane and environmentally friendly means of deterring intrusive animals. David Schejbal, director of the Office of Continuing Education, consulted with Harriett Weatherford, a former member of the Champaign County Humane Society’s board, and with CCHS executive director Jason Smith about adopting some dogs for the farm. Smith agreed to hand-pick a couple of dogs after visiting the park and ensuring that the dogs would be well cared for, kept in a confined area and receive plenty of human interaction.

Staff members were looking for working breeds with friendly dispositions, coats suited to outdoor living, and herding or protective instincts.

Smith obtained Fred and Ginger, who are between 1 and 2 years old, from animal shelters in Rantoul and Danville because CCHS has a policy that prohibits placing dogs in environments where they would live exclusively outdoors, Smith said. Fred is an Australian shepherd, a breed known for its herding and guarding instincts; Ginger, a Labrador retriever, was chosen as Fred’s companion because of her curious, friendly disposition and “for being just a downright good dog that gets along well with other dogs,” Smith said.

Smith and Weatherford advised park staff on creating a humane and comfortable environment for the dogs, and a housing and feeding area was constructed with a shaded 12-foot by 12-foot concrete pad and a comparable-sized sunny area filled with wood chips. As part of an alternative spring break program during March, student volunteers helped build an insulated dog house and a 4-foot high fence to enclose the 3-acre parcel that the dogs protect.

Student interns, who live at the park from mid-May to mid-August, will assist Todd Statzer, manager of the Diversified Farm, with caring for the dogs, and Herb Whiteley, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, has agreed to have students provide veterinary care.

Statzer said he is training the dogs to patrol their parcel twice a day. Last year, pumpkins were grown on the parcel because pumpkins were one crop that staff thought the deer herds weren’t likely to eat and might survive in an unprotected area.

 Sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes and other produce are grown on an adjacent 2 1/2- to 3-acre parcel, which is enclosed by an impenetrable, electrified fence to deter scavenging animals. This year, similar crops will be grown on both parcels and the yields compared to determine Fred and Ginger’s effectiveness as pest control mechanisms.

“We don’t have any eyewitness accounts of their chasing off any deer yet, but we’re hoping that their presence – their odor, barking and so forth – will help deter deer from entering that area,” Gortner said.

Deer and other creatures have been remarkably nimble at circumventing fences when they’re hungry and are determined to reach plants that they want to eat, staff members say.

“Once winter hits and food gets scarce, deer will eat anything, including plants that are supposedly deer resistant,” Statzer said. “Raccoons will scale an electrified fence to get sweet corn; they have such an appetite for it, they’ll withstand some shocks to get to the corn. But a raccoon will not mess with a dog. They’ll just steer clear of the area and go look for food somewhere else. We’re glad to have Fred and Ginger because we think they’re really going to help us.”

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