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VIRGINIA PRECINCT Cathy Fiddler An acknowledged animal lover and long-time advocate for the rights of wild and domesticated animals, Cathy Fiddler was at a Frisbee competition in 1999 when a chance meeting planted a seed in her mind. Another competitor told Cathy he was using Border Collies to help drive geese off commercial properties in Pennsylvania. At that point Cathy’s entrepreneurial spirit took over and, with the help of a partner, formed a company called Geese B. Gone. She dedicated her company to the humane removal of geese from commercial and industrial properties. Geese B. Gone’s first contract was with Lowes Island Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. Not coincidentally, it’s second was with Lansdowne, a convention and golf resort just down the Leesburg Pike from Lowes Island. From there, Cathy’s business started to grow as developers, office parks and companies up and down the Dulles corridor caught wind of her service and began to contract for geese removal. Every morning before their full-time jobs, on lunch breaks, or on their way home from work, Cathy and her partner would drive their dogs to the respective sites to herd geese. Soon they were having trouble keeping up with demand and found themselves taking on a number of full and part-time employees. In April 2000, business was growing so rapidly that Cathy made a giant leap of faith. She bought her partner out. Then she gave up her career with a real estate management company, not to mention the steady paycheck and free housing it afforded her, and devoted herself 100% to Geese B. Gone and turning it into a successful and respected company. Later that year, in December, Cathy was exhibiting at a tradeshow when she met Dave Marcks, the owner of a well-established company called Geese Police. The first words out of her mouth to Dave were, “Don't try to sell me a franchise.” Cathy said she was proud of Geese B. Gone and didn’t want anyone telling her how to run her business. However, Cathy and Dave hit it off professionally and in talking to him she realized he had developed solutions to some of the many challenges and issues that had arisen in the course of business. After some research on Dave’s company, she discovered that Geese Police was the first of its kind to utilize Border Collies, a remarkable breed of dog Cathy felt was the key to her rapid growth and the asset that most separated her from other pest removal services. Given his incredible knowledge and 15 years of experience, Cathy came to the realization that the benefits of partnering with Dave far outweighed her desire to remain an independent owner. In 2001, Geese Police of VA/MD was created as a franchise of Geese Police Inc. Soon thereafter, Cathy bought a small farm in Frederick, Maryland, and two Border Collies from the Geese Police Academy, bringing her staff of four-legged workers to four. Cathy’s collection of dogs at that time included one of the original Border Collies that helped her launch her company, Tippy, and Cait, a gift from a well-known breeder, and the two additions from the Academy, Flos and Davey. Tippy has since passed away, but Cathy continues to honor her as the matriarch of the Geese Police of VA/MD and still makes her a part of the company by including photos of her in all printed materials, greeting cards and on the Geese Police of VA/MD web site. A native of Alexandria, Virginia, Cathy and her husband, best friend and business colleague, Eric, now live in Purcellville, Virginia where they are slowly but surely building their dream home. |
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©Geese Police, Inc.® of Geese Police, Inc.® PO Box 656 Howell, New Jersey 07731 Phone: 732.938-9093 ◊ Fax: 732.938.9092 866-NO-GEESE (664-3373) E-Mail: headqtrs@geesepoliceinc.com GPI, LLC Franchise Administrator for Geese Police |
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