Goose Napping !
Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 8:00am
I have never watched a creature of any kind remain lost, hungry and afraid if I could help it, but sometimes there is nothing you can do and you can't fix STUPID! At least the Dawg and I didn't get carted off to jail. at 4AM
Reminder to self: NEVER leave a note with your name and phone number if you are BREAKING AND ENTERING and for gosh sakes, don't put notes on BOTH doors!
We noticed this goose this goose two days ago. She was in our driveway and the driveways of our neighbors. She was not a wild goose but a domestic . She was very friendly and showed no fear of people. She was a PET. We thought perhaps with all the storms she had become lost from her home. She was obviously LOSt. She was hungry and thirsty and she honked sadly all day Thursday and Friday. We live in a town house in a large complex. It is NOT a wooded or wild area by any stretch. We do have a lake and wild geese and ducks come and go. We called the apartment office Friday morning and they called the SPCA .. told us it would be Saturday. Later on Friday evening we asked some of our neighbors near us and were told. Yes, this was indeed a pet goose and some man living nearby walked his dog and goose every day, if fact, this same man was seen trying hard "catch'" is pet a few times Thurs and Fri.
Well, SPCA was coming and this was someone's pet that they loved and cared for.. This goose was in fine shape.. other than being hungry and the above mentioned problems. So, being the fool-hardly devil may care meddling idiot of a person that I am, I talked Dawg into helping me catch this goose. It wasn't hard! We caught her and I put her in a portable puppy pen that I use for my bunnies. I fed her and watered her and while I watched her devour the bird seed and gulp water, I told her what a beautiful creature she was . Dawg set about trying to locate this man who lived "over there somewhere" That wasn' t hard either. Dawg only knocked on a couple of doors . I guess if you have a pet goose and walk it every day, people take notice. So the Dawg borrowed paper and pen from the neighbor he just talked to because the MAN was NOT at home. The note he wrote said. "We got your goose." with Our Phone number and address. (Dawg is a man of few words and doesn't mess about with trivia ) I expected the man to call us anytime or just come and get his goose.
We heard nothing. . Until about 4 AM, someone is pounding on our door. I go down to answer it thinking that is is the man about his goose. And I am glad. I was still awake and was much relieved that he was getting his pet.
Who is it? I asked. Springdale Police! was the answer. Well, I am a bit foggy sometimes... (especially if I haven't slept much. And I thought right away that something horrible had happened -some emergency - all our family live out of state.. But thankfully all the family is safe as far as I know.
The police woman asked me to identify myself.. I was really scared now. I was yelling for Dawg ro hurry and come downstairs.
"Do you have a goose?" The cop asked.
I recovered .."Yes, we do, it's in the basement. I gave it food and water. Is the owner coming to get it?
Why are you here? I asked . . I thought you were coming about something bad.
Guess I was babbling.. I dunno. maybe police women don't take kindly to goose calls and too many questions.
"No! The owner isn't coming . He is pressing charges against you for breaking and entering! This police woman was hostile to me from the beginning. She really was! I thought she was going to read me my rights and cuff me right there I just couldn't believe what she was saying Breaking and Entering? We left a note? It seemed so totally weird.
Turns out the man had raised this goose from a gosling. He had it 8 years! He was NOT trying to catch his pet. He was trying to release it back into the WILD. We live in an apartment complex. There are many people, many cars, there are predators here that take the wild things, (I have heard it) So, cop called the owner to come get his goose and this guy was livid when he arrived. . He was not happy at my choice of pens for one thing and he told me so. When I tired to talk to him , he grabbed up his goose and said, "He could have me PUT IN JAIL. Guess I shouldn't have said that part about him "DUMPING his pet" Thought that was against the law somewhere... ~the cop says.. Well He was just trying to release it into the wild! ... you were in wrong. you should leave animals to the SPCA. And the police do not handle animals calls, Call the SPCA not us!
Then the man had the nerve to ask if we would do him a favor and if we saw this goose again, just leave the goose alone for a few days while she learned to live in the wild. Imagine!
Domestic animals do not know how to care for themselves. They die quickly..
How sad for this lovely creature!
Anyway, we are not in jail and the goose is gone (at least for now)
Oh, the charge of breaking and entering... some garages have doorbells as you all may know. People here in this complex use the garage to come and go as there is no parking in the front entrances. Dawg knocked on the front door. left the note, then went to the garage. All the lights were on and windows were open. He pushed the door bell..which wasn't a door bell at all but the garage opener button. The garage opened and Dawg just slipped the note on the inside of the garage door, then closed it again.
And as the man told the girl cop! "I got thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stuff in my apartment..." (his words)
Well, (smiles) I can now. Smile that is.. I know a place where there is thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stuff just for the taking. Just push the door bell! But make sure you don't take the goose. It is in the process of being released into the WILD and it would be a crying shame if anything or anyone caused this plan to somehow go awry.
I'm not crying anymore and the birds are singing and the sun is shinning and I think I'll take a nap. Good night.
