Meet Jed — Pingry's Newest Maintenance Employee
April 17, 2003

The Martinsville campus is set on a sprawling 235 acres of lush green land, with carefully manicured fields for our athletes. Where there is grass there are also Canada geese. While these graceful fowl add to Pingry’s country-like setting, they are quite messy and present challenges to the athletes and groundskeepers alike. The Canada geese do not have natural predators in this area and, according to state law, it is illegal to harm them. Enter Jed — our two-year-old border collie, specially trained to move the geese to greener pastures without harming a feather on their heads. Jed is a native Virginian and was trained at a farm in Shipman to specifically herd water fowl. Geese, being the free roaming creatures they are, do not like to be herded and become annoyed. Eventually they will begin to avoid the area in which Jed patrols. Jed is handled by Mike Virzi and David Sandorse, staff at the Martinsville campus. He is restricted to two handlers and has bonded to Mr. Virzi and Mr. Sandorse because they lead him to the geese. Jed lives with the Virzi family when he is not on the job. Jed will continue his on-the-job-training as a “de-gooser” for at least a year, according to Mr. Virzi. He is not allowed to have toys or treats; his reward is pleasing his handlers and doing his job well. This seems to suit Jed as he bounds across the fields in search of trespassing geese. Jed has been well received by the faculty, staff, and students. He is kept on a lead while inside the building, and prefers to sleep in the maintenance offices when off duty. And, of course, there is never a shortage of ear scratching and head patting when he visits the hallways. © 2003 The Pingry School