Nicholas Carter with some of his Border collies at the 15-acre rescue center near Melrose.

A UNF faculty member is embarking on a plan which could significantly reduce the danger of plane crashes at the nation's airports by using specially trained Border Collies.

Dr. Nicholas Carter is leading the effort as executive director of Border Collie Rescue Inc., a nationwide program to find adoptive homes for the ever-increasing number of unwanted Border collies. Carter, an assistant professor, is joined by other volunteers in running the rescue operation at a 15-acre center near Melrose. He believes that Border collies can effectively eliminate the problem of birds around runways being sucked into jet engines of aircraft.

About 4,500 bird strikes are reported yearly by commercial and military aircraft in the United States, causing about $250 million in damages. Bird strikes can be deadly. In 1995, for example, an Air Force E-3 Sentry plane sucked geese into the two left engines on takeoff at Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage. The plane crashed killing 23 crew members.

Carter will get a chance to prove his program later this month when his first trained Border collie will be placed at Southwest International Airport in Fort Myers which has had a recurring problems with large number of wading birds congregating near its runways. It is believed to be the first commercial airport in the world to use this innovative program.

Border Collie Rescue Inc. has been operating since 1990 as a non-profit organization dedicated to placement of the traditional herding dogs. Initially a one-man operation, the all-volunteer organization has now grown to 250 volunteers in Florida and more than 500 across the country. With the assistance of the Internet, the organization has placed more than 400 Border collies around the country. Although extremely intelligent, Border collies are frequently given up by families because the dogs' strong herding instincts result in problems especially with nipping the heels of young children.

Carter, who is a dog behavior specialist, says he has found that his most troublesome dogs are the ones best suited for the airport work. "These dogs do such a good job of chasing birds off runways that they eventually will work themselves out of a job. After awhile, the birds just don't come back" Carter says.

A placement fee includes on-site initial training for all handlers and year-round consultation service should any questions or problems arise. All dogs are trained at the Gainesville Regional Airport so they are accustomed to working in a busy airport environment.

Carter says the revenue from training and support fees in the placement of each airport dog helps fund at least 10 other dogs at the Center. Carter has a policy of never destroying an animal. They can live out their lives at the center if another adoptive home cannot be found.

"Airports are great homes for our dogs. They get the best vet care in the world and they have a job to do every day. These dogs are working dogs and we see it as an outlet for some of our hardest to place dogs," he says.