Wedding cake-stealing, goose-chasing dog dies after life spent zipping around

Credit: Photo: courtsey of Danielle O'Neill

Credit: Photo: courtsey of Danielle O'Neill

A mischievous pooch known to chase off geese and chomp into wedding cakes at Cox Arboretum and Gardens MetroPark has died.

Zipp, Five Rivers MetroPark’s former goose-chasing dog,  died Friday, according to

Danielle O'Neill of Stalk and Awe, a  company that manages geese with trained Border Collie dogs.

O'Neill and her husband Greg adopted Zipp, a Border Collie, after he retired from Cox Arboretum in 2015.

He helped to control the park’s geese for about a decade.

>> MORE: Catch up with Zipp, MetroParks' newly retired goose-chasing dog

Zipp was suffering from Cushing’s disease when the O’Neills welcomed him into their family.

The disorder causes weakness and increased thirst, urination, hunger and panting among other symptoms.

Credit: Five Rivers MetroParks

Credit: Five Rivers MetroParks

Zipp was supposed to live just six months, but just kept on zipping around the O’Neills’ small farm, Danielle told this organization.

She says her “sweet boy” befriended a young Brittany Spaniel named Hopper and spent his days watching goats and chicken.

Danielle calls it dog TV.

There was a big age difference — Zipp was about 14 when he died while Hopper is 3 —  but the dogs were partners in doggie antics, Danielle said.

“They would run around and take naps,” she said. “He liked to lay under the apple tree and eat all the apples.”

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Danielle said she and her husband did not want Zipp to suffer.  His health declined in recent weeks.

Aside from the Cushing’s,  Zipp had arthritis.

The friendly pooch earned his name at Cox Arboretum and chased away thousands of messy geese from the day he began in 2005.

Danielle said stories about Zipp stealing wedding cake from wedding parties are legendary.

>> MORE: 8 picture perfect places to say “I do” in Dayton 

Zipp had a spacious kennel at Cox, but the O’Neills were his first family.

He even had his own Facebook page.

“He got to run around and be a dog and be spoiled,” Danielle said. “We called him our little zippy tomato.”

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