"They will work from dawn till dusk and still be wanting to go in the evening when we finish work." That's how Gareth Williams, owner of Border Control Bird Dogs, describes his two border collies — and right now, Ben and Sally might be doing one of the more important jobs at the 2026 World Cup.
The pair have been contracted to patrol the training facilities at Centennial Park in Toronto's northwest corner, keeping Canada geese off the pitches used by national teams preparing for their matches. It sounds like a quirky sideshow. It isn't.
Why geese are actually a serious problem
Canada geese are notoriously territorial, sometimes aggressive, and have a habit of treating any open green space as their personal territory. On a football pitch, that's a problem for two very specific reasons.
- Goose feces carry disease — a genuine health risk for players training on the surface daily.
- The waste burns turf, degrading the very playing surface teams are paying to use.
"It's very important to keep the soccer fields clear," Williams said. With teams building match preparation around the quality of training surfaces, a goose infestation isn't just an inconvenience — it's a competitive issue.
Ben, eight years old, is the seasoned veteran. Calm, focused, and perpetually scanning for birds. Sally, at two and a half, flips into work mode the second her hi-vis vest goes on. Her handler Spencer Jones says the bond has developed fast: "We've become an awesome team working at FIFA World Cup."
A niche job getting a rare spotlight
Border Control Bird Dogs has been managing goose populations across Ontario for years — cemeteries, hospitals, golf courses. The World Cup assignment is the same work, just with a considerably bigger audience watching.
"It's been a breath of fresh air to have the chance to make people aware of what we do," Williams said. The dogs work twice a day, five days a week, with standby availability if the geese decide to push their luck.
Ben and Sally aren't on the team sheet. But for the visiting sides training in Toronto, they're keeping the pitch ready.
