Proving that getting fired is not necessarily the end of the world, a former police dog who was let go from the force “for being too soft” has finally found his calling chasing away birds from airplanes.
Ozzie, a male German Shepherd, was trained by Queensland Police Service in 2018. He formed part of the “O” litter for that batch. But while the 18-month-old clearly loved chasing balls, he wasn’t aggressive enough to chase criminals.
Luckily for Ozzie, he found a place at Brisbane Airport and lives with his partner and handler, Jackson Ring.
Ring said, “Ozzie didn’t portray all the necessary traits of a police canine – but he is perfect for what we want, which is introducing a predator into the environment.”
Part of Ozzie’s job is to shoo away birds from critical areas of the airport so that they don’t interfere with the aircraft there. Birds can pose a danger to aircraft if they are sucked into the engine.
In the past, Ring and his team would use sirens and pyrotechnics to scare them away but the birds soon got acclimatized to the noise.
But ever since Ozzie entered the scene, the birds have become too terrified to come close, the perfect outcome they’ve all been looking for.
“His priorities in life are ball, then breathing and then everything else below that,” Ring said.
“He’s perfect for us though because of his love of balls. He goes out and he’s so happy to run around.
“He has got so much energy. He will do whatever we want as long as he can come back and play with his ball.”
Ozzie’s day typically involves daily exercise combined with tons of positive reinforcement from the handlers.
The handlers then study the wildlife statistics in the area before taking Ozzie out to the 1,700-hectare airfield to patrol the area. The airport is expected to grow another 360 hectares by July.
On quiet days, Ozzie’s handlers will take him to parks where there are a lot of birds so that they can work on drills.
The team just loves having Ozzie with them.
“I love him and the team loves him. He is the biggest morale boost in the world,” he said.
“His duties out on the airfield and his training is one thing but another benefit of having a dog is he is an amazing companion.
“We have formed an incredible bond. Everyone loves him. He’s such a great bundle of energy and positivity running around.”
It’s not the first time a dog has been used that way in an airport. Gold Coast previously used another Labrador named Joe for seven years until he died in 2018.
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