Pup for the Course
By Regan M. White

Love to golf? Hate the geese? Thanks to Abby, a black Lab/Boxer mix, the geese are no longer a problem for golfers at the Lexington Golf & Country Club in Lexington, Virginia. Owned by Golf Course Superintendent Kurt Hellenga, Abby has become invaluable to the course as a professional patroller of the geese that loiter around the greens and tee boxes and litter them with droppings.

Kurt got the idea from his former boss, Craig Thompson, the Golf Course Superintendent at Chapel Hill Country Club in North Carolina who had two Border Collies that chased the geese. As Kurt recalls, “I had just graduated from college and went to the SPCA in Raleigh myself to get a Border Collie to chase geese. They didn’t have any and I got Abby instead. She and three of her brothers had been abandoned underneath a new house that was being built. She was just 3 or 4 months old. When I saw her, our eyes met and that was it.” As for her name, Kurt says “We didn’t have any kids at the time and my wife said she’d rather not have any girls, so I’d better pick a girl’s name for the dog. My favorite name for a girl would have been Abigale so that’s why we went with Abby.”

Abby takes her job very seriously, accompanying Kurt to work every day, always by his side. “When I first got her I tried leaving her home when I went to the course. That didn’t work out too well. She’s been with me ever since.” As a young pup, Kurt took her to the pond on the course in Chapel Hill where the geese hung out and began mimicking the commands the Superintendent used with his Border Collies. He would say “go get the birdies!” and make a swishing sound like geese flying. Abby just naturally began to associate going to the pond with chasing something. The routine began to stick - every time she went to the pond, she knew to chase the geese and she’s been doing it naturally on her own for 18 months now.

Once Kurt took the job in Virginia, he asked if he could bring Abby along to the Country Club in hopes of getting her “hired” as well. “There were 80 geese when we first got here. They weren’t exactly tame but they weren’t afraid of people or equipment,” Kurt recalls, “the geese were tricky, I had to change the time that Abby and I went out to work because they seemed to know that we were coming in the early morning and would wait until later to arrive. We would drive around by the ponds just to keep them from landing. Now they don’t even fly over and we’re down to only 10 and those are too old or injured to fly away.” (We’re guessing they steer clear of Abby, though!) With such a visible track record, it looks like Abby has a hole-in-one when it comes to job security. Abby takes her job very seriously, accompanying Kurt to work every day, always by his side. “When I first got her I tried leaving her home when I went to the course. That didn’t work out too well. She’s been with me ever since.” As a young pup, Kurt took her to the pond on the course in Chapel Hill where the geese hung out and began mimicking the commands the Superintendent used with his Border Collies. He would say “go get the birdies!” and make a swishing sound like geese flying. Abby just naturally began to associate going to the pond with chasing something. The routine began to stick - every time she went to the pond, she knew to chase the geese and she’s been doing it naturally on her own for 18 months now.

Once Kurt took the job in Virginia, he asked if he could bring Abby along to the Country Club in hopes of getting her “hired” as well. “There were 80 geese when we first got here. They weren’t exactly tame but they weren’t afraid of people or equipment,” Kurt recalls, “the geese were tricky, I had to change the time that Abby and I went out to work because they seemed to know that we were coming in the early morning and would wait until later to arrive. We would drive around by the ponds just to keep them from landing. Now they don’t even fly over and we’re down to only 10 and those are too old or injured to fly away.” (We’re guessing they steer clear of Abby, though!) With such a visible track record, it looks like Abby has a hole-in-one when it comes to job security.

Besides chasing geese, her next favorite thing is to sunbathe on the sand pile by the golf maintenance building where she hangs out with the crew and enjoys plenty of hand-outs. When she’s off-duty, Abby prefers to be wherever Kurt, his wife Meaghan and their 3-month old son, Ryan are. Abby’s devotion is evident both on and off the course, particularly in her protection of the new baby. If there are any visitors to the house, she lays right in front of Ryan’s crib and, Kurt laughs, “when Ryan cries, if we don’t get to the crib quick enough, Abby is always there first.”

Kurt’s remarks are glowing when asked how he feels about Labs, considering he initially went looking for a Border Collie. “I wish I could duplicate her – she’s perfect. Smart, loyal, intelligent, easily trained – I’d love to have another dog just like her.”

When asked about the course, Kurt is quick to give all the kudos directly to Abby. “She helped me tremendously in my career since this is my first time as a Superintendent. I was able to bring something of my own in and the members were able to see an immediate result. She’s a welcome sight to the members since they no longer have to tread through the goose droppings on the tee boxes or greens. Basically, she made me look good real quick. She needs to take a lot of the credit for our success.”

And with a job description that includes being outside, swimming, chasing geese, mingling with club members and shadowing your favorite person all day, Abby couldn’t be happier herself. For Lexington Golf & Country Club, a pup for the course has proven to be as important as par for the course.



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