- When he goes out and actually deploys to chase something,
it looks like a missile launch.
I just open up the back door and he jumps out.
It's a lot of fun.
Piper is the only dog working at this airport,
and there's actually only a handful of dogs
working at airports around the country.
It's a pretty rare thing.
I am Brian Edwards.
Piper and I work at the Cherry Capital Airport
in Traverse City, Michigan.
Piper is a Border Collie.
Piper's prime function here is wildlife control.
Primarily, Piper is going to be chasing away
large waterfowl like ducks and geese.
In the wintertime, it actually chases away the snowy owl,
and then in the summertime,
it's basically seagulls and crows.
Birds can cause a lot of different types of damage.
Most bird strikes are with smaller
types of birds that might just cause dents,
but if the bird is large enough
and is ingested into an engine,
that can cause serious failure
like the Miracle on the Hudson.
Training specifically for us took
about a year, year and a half.
So, the way that we've trained is that
anytime I deploy Piper out of the truck,
he doesn't just run away from the truck,
he always runs the direction we were traveling.
A lot of times I deploy him when the vehicle is moving,
so that's just the way that we trained.
A lot of times I try to get him to see
what it is he's gonna chase first.
The goggles, or the Rec Specs, serve two purposes for him.
One, they're UV protectant so they protect his eyes,
and number two, they're safety goggles, basically.
It's one of those things that if he wants to
go out and work or have fun, he's gotta wear it.
Yeah, good boy!
Go get ‘em, buddy! Go get em!
Dogs are really useful for wildlife control
because specifically Border Collies, it's in their blood.
Eventually, the goal is to train the birds
and other animals that they don't wanna be here
because there's a predator in town,
something that's gonna keep harassing them all the time.
Piper's been with me at the airport for almost three years.
He's pretty much with me all the time.
I don't think Piper sees it as work,
I think it's all play to him, which is what we want, right?
The best thing personally with Piper,
and it's been this way before we started working,
he's got a mind of his own.
I talk to him like I would talk to anybody else.
He's my bro.
Does it get any better than that?
I get to work with my best friend every day,
I'm extremely proud of him,
I couldn't ask for anything more.
(orchestral music)