Couple raises, trains special dogs

By NICOLE CARTRETTE

“Working like a dog” means much more to John and Rebecca Ryan of Chadbourn than it does most. For the past seven years, the family has been training border collies to clear birds from airfields for clients like the U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense.

The Ryans have placed dogs in 32 states and two countries and have more Air Force wildlife management contracts of their kind than any other company. One might be surprised to find an operation like it based in Columbus County. But Rebecca Ryan says the 32-acre Chadbourn farm formerly owned by the Strole family is the ideal location for Fly Away Farm and Kennels.

Rebecca, who started the business in 1999, said the first contract involved the sale of two dogs to clear airfields at a Daytona Beach, Fla. airport. The paperwork was close to 300 pages. She admitted she was overwhelmed at first. Many contracts later, she said she enjoys the government contract work.

While training border collies to keep birds off runways makes up a large part of their business, it is usually only part of a larger package deal that includes total wildlife management.

They employ and work with several individuals and a biologist to identify a client’s needs. Seasons, weather, bird flight patterns and the type of vegetation and grass on the airfield are just a few things that are evaluated to create the most effective plan in preventing bird strikes. The Ryans say wildlife management is critical for civilian and military airfields because of fatalities and very costly damage a bird strike can cause.

“Even a small bird the size of a pigeon can cause $100,000 to $200,000 in damages,” Rebecca Ryan pointed out. While there are no guarantees, bird strikes have been reduced more than 80 percent in many cases with the use of a wildlife management plan that includes the use of highly trained border collies.

Falcons are also a popular way to clear airfields, but at a cost of as much as $300,000 a year, it’s not economical, the husband-and-wife-team report. John said introducing another bird to an area that you’re trying to keep bird-free is not as sensible as using the dogs.

“Dogs are more effective,” said Rebecca.

The Ryans are not limited to dealing with bird issues. John said he was once asked to remove cobras that had escaped from a shipping container at an airfield.

They have also trained dogs to work at fisheries. Mulligan, a 3-year-old border collie, is now being trained for a fishery in Georgia.

Rebecca pointed out that the farm is really just a starting place for the dogs.

“This is basically where we get them excited.”

The Ryans emphasized that the great thing about border collies is their compassion. While the dogs love to chase waterfowl and other birds, the thrill is strictly in the chase.

“We have had border collies catch birds accidentally and then bring them back to us (unhurt),” John said.

Another characteristic of border collies that makes them ideal for wildlife management is their undying persistence.

“Collies will do this day in and day out,” Rebecca said as she watched Mulligan swim after a few ducks at her farm pond.

While many of the bigger contracts involve Air Force bases, the Ryans said they receive a great deal of business from their website and word of mouth. Golf courses and fisheries are among their clients. They also train labs for searching bombs and drug dogs for police departments .

Rebecca said because they are considered to be HUB-zoned (have operations in a rural area with high unemployment) they receive special consideration in government contracts. She said they do not have to be the lowest bidder on contracts and receive the same consideration as the lowest bidder as long as their offer is no greater than 15 percent of the lowest bid.

This is one incentive that attracted the Ryans to Columbus County, but the main reason they chose to make the move was their love of farm life. John, who has a background in law enforcement, grew up on a farm and Rebecca at one point lived on a farm. John said the couple and their two children Lydia, 9, and Danielle, 5, discovered that suburban life just was not for them.

“This is where we want to be,” said John.

“We love it here,” said Rebecca; they moved from Southport to the old Strole dairy farm they found for sale on the Internet last year.

Rebecca said the waiting list to get things done — almost anything in Brunswick County — was very time consuming. She said to get a fence installed in Brunswick County would have taken months, because of the demand. She was thrilled to discover Columbus County businesses had the quickest service she had ever seen.

“This is like a miracle place,” she said. “When there was something that needed to be done on the farm it seemed that there were people stopping by offering their services.” Rebecca recalled being asked if her barns needed to be painted just days after thinking she needed to find someone to do the job.

“We jumped into the community,” she added. The couple has several projects for Columbus County in the works. They hope to establish some type of partnership with the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina that would give children living there the opportunity to get involved with raising border collies.

The couple has also offered to donate canines to the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office and police departments in Chadbourn and Whiteville. The Ryans will provide the canine, and the user is responsible for the cost of training. Rebecca said this would save the departments thousands of dollars because they won’t have to purchase the dog.

“We have a vested interest in helping the community here,” said John.

Rebecca, who attended the N.C. School of the Arts and majored in classical vocal performance, has loved dogs and horses all of her life. At the age of 4, she competed in her first dog show and years later began training dogs for a living. She said it is often a demanding job that requires constant travel but she loves it.

To learn more about the Ryans and their border collies visit Flyawaybordercollies.com