Rescuing Gooseberry… Twice

My family was in the throws of craziness about a month ago. The free soccer league that I founded last fall was beginning their spring practices, both kids had started soccer, my husband and I were coaching both of their teams, and my parents had opened their barn doors to the Unique Boutique and Antiques Tour of which I was fully involved with. Every day and evening was filled with something. It was during that busy time that I got a text from my sister-in-law who lives two hours south of us that read: “Know anyone who might be interested in a goose? She showed up [at the park my sister-in-law works at] last week like someone dumped her here…” My sister-in-law attached this picture:

This is a story about rescuing our goose, Gooseberry… twice.

The First Rescue

Anyone who knows me, knows that I can’t resist or turn down an animal. Especially an animal that needs a home. Unfortunately, my schedule didn’t allow for the time to go and pick up the goose, but my sister-in-law was determined to get the goose to us, which I loved. The day after I got my sister-in-law’s text, she drove the goose up to our house.

When my brother and sister-in-law pulled into our driveway and took the goose out of the car, the goose sat quietly in the cardboard box she was in (which was far removed from what the ride up entailed). The kids and I peeked into the hole at the top of the box, and we saw one big, shiny, black eye staring right back at us. We carried the box gently back to our chicken run, and opened the flap for the goose to come out.

The goose walked out of her box quietly, assessed her surroundings, and proceeded to give us short, quiet honks as her neck quivered. She seemed nervous, but not too scared of us as she would come within a few feet of where we were standing. My sister-in-law had thought of a name for the goose on her ride up, and took into account that all of our chickens were named after wildflowers. Gooseberry seemed to fit our new goose perfectly. My family was happy to adopt Gooseberry, and we were excited to give her a new home.

Well, for a few days anyway.

The Second Rescue

Gooseberry stayed in the run for three days. She had fresh food and water, half of a hay bale to lay on, and my son invented a grass-feeding station, which Gooseberry took to immediately. We enjoyed watching her bury her head in the grass as she ripped off bits and pieces of the bright green treat. By the second day, Gooseberry started coming close enough to us that we could pet her side gently if we didn’t move too fast. Since Gooseberry seemed to settle in nicely, we decided we would let her loose in our fenced-in backyard on the third day.

Gooseberry needed to be as free as possible and have unlimited access to grass, a gooses main diet. It was time to introduce her to the chickens who wander the yard. Well, that lasted but a few minutes. Gooseberry took off through the back woods moments after finding her freedom. The kids were sad, and I was worried, but I hoped that she would find a local goose family to join as our home is surrounded by lakes, ponds, and creeks, so waterfowl abound. But, as it turned out, Gooseberry wasn’t interested in the lakes, streams, or creeks, she was interested in being around people.

Days later, I saw a post online that read “Anyone Lose a Goose?” The person who posted the information had a picture of Gooseberry lounging in the grass of someone’s front lawn. We immediately jumped in the car to pick her up but, she had already wandered off. There were many more sightings in the following week, but we never did cross paths with her… until the day the kids went fishing down at the lake.

On a warm, sunny day, both of the kids were plopped down on the bank by the water’s edge when they heard honk, honk. But, it wasn’t the typical honk they hear from the wild Canadian geese, it was higher pitched.

They recognized it!

The kids followed the sound up the road a bit and down a driveway where they found Gooseberry drinking out of a puddle. They tried to carry Gooseberry home, but little arms were no match for large wings, so the kids rode their bikes home as fast as they could to come and get me. I immediately packed our large dog kennel in the car and we rushed off again.

This time Gooseberry stayed put. My kids jumped out of the car and slowly approached Gooseberry while I opened the back of the car and the door to the kennel. When the moment was right, my daughter dove onto the goose, giving her a great big bear hug. That little girl wasn’t about to lose Gooseberry again, so she held Gooseberry tight until we were able to get her into the kennel.

Finally Home

Early the next day, my daughter and I went out to clip Gooseberry’s wings. Clipping wings is just like clipping finger nails – no pain involved. The primary feathers are the only feathers that need cutting, so when the wings fold back, you can’t tell that there has been any alteration. Clipping the primary wings halfway down the feather shaft makes it so the birds are not able to get adequate lift, thus keeping them grounded. Gooseberry did try to take off again, but only once. Since then she has been getting used to her new home, and we’ve been surprised by what we have learned about Gooseberry.

The most exciting and welcome discovery was finding out how much Gooseberry loves people. She waits for us to wake up in the morning, and as soon as we come outside she greets us with several soft welcome honks. Gooseberry has also learned to listen for car tires on our gravel driveway, and for the sound of the garage door opening. In both cases, she honks loudly until someone comes to the back yard to see her. When we are in the backyard with her, she’s like a little shadow, quietly following close behind. But perhaps the most surprising behavior we discovered was her fascination with riding lawnmowers.

Several days after clipping Gooseberry’s wings, I rode the riding lawnmower into the backyard only to have Gooseberry hot on my heels. I wasn’t sure if she wanted to attack the mower, follow me, or if she was just interested in the mower – the latter was the case. That goose followed the mower up and down the hill, slowing down to wait up for me, or running fast to catch up. I believe I laughed for most of that lawn mowing job watching Gooseberry diligently following the mower.

Another welcome surprise was Gooseberry’s interest in gardening. Last fall I wrote about losing Goldie, my chicken and gardening partner. Now, I’ve found another gardening pal in Gooseberry.

She is very interested in my digging, but is most interested in the weeds I pick and the roots that stick out of a freshly dug hole. Gooseberry follows me from weed-to-weed and pulls any roots she finds on the sides of holes I dig when planting or transplanting plants. I laughed when Gooseberry mistook an earthworm for a root, dropped that worm as fast as she could, and shook her head wildly. She’s definitely not a chicken! My dog, Ayla, has even started to grow jealous of Gooseberry – sneaking between Gooseberry and me in the garden. Gooseberry gives Ayla a good hissing, but nothing more.

My family has already fallen in love with Gooseberry, and we’re debating getting another goose or two for her to live with. Gooseberry already seems happy, but I wonder if she’d be happier with another goose friend. Any advice out there? This is out first experience with a goose, so we’re still learning, but we’re thoroughly enjoying it!

Do you have any animal rescue stories? I’d love to read about them.:)