Kayla then passed on her special talents to Maggie, a two-year-old golden lab. The two of them work together, following Lisa’s verbal commands. Visitors are amazed at the ability of the two dogs to corral the sleek trout and direct them to the waiting nets.

This event doesn’t go unnoticed. Lisa has a pair of bald eagles nearby and when the daily chores are done the eagles swoop down for their daily meal. Lisa says they take one or two trout daily but she doesn’t mind. "It’s worth it just to observe these magnificent birds.

There is another guest to the trout farm that is not so welcome. Black bears wreak havoc and destroy anything in their way to get at the trout. Lisa and her husband bought a large live trap to capture the marauding bears and you might think they bait it with a few trout. You would be wrong. They tried that approach but it wasn’t nearly as effective as the present bait. Considered by most as one of the basic food groups…well would you believe Dunkin Donuts Boston crème filled donuts? The captured bears are transported and released in wilderness areas. Other occasional thieves include; lynx, bobcats, and even robins eat some of the fingerling size trout.

It’s a job that that lasts about 9 months of the year, but Kayla and Maggie don’t mind. In fact they can’t wait to get up in the morning to go to work.

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Would You Believe-Canine Trout Herders?

Dick Natoli

Kayla and Maggie work on a trout farm and their job is to herd the fish towards the nets so they can be gathered and then shipped to various destinations around New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. That doesn’t sound too unusual except that Kayla and Maggie are Labrador retrievers. Their owner, Lisa Shavers, watches as the two dogs literally herd up and drive the school of trout toward the 60 foot net at one end of the rearing pond. Lisa and her husband raise over 500,000 trout per year on their Beaverkill Trout Farm in upstate NY. Over 150,000 are sold each year and the job of gathering can be difficult. Kayla is 13 and has been herding the trout most of her life. As Lisa put it, "she just jumped in one day as a pup and began to chase the trout." With a little training and direction Kayla soon became a very important tool during the busy summer season at the trout farm.