Some might find it ironic that just as goose hunting season is about to start, people from all over the state have been worried about a goose with a broken wing in Naugatuck. The story began when Patch reader Trisha Shufelt submitted an announcement to Naugatuck Patch asking people to help her save a young Canadian goose who was damaged in an attack, most likely by a dog, judging by his reactions to passing dogs.
Trish and her son, who named the goose Winger, had been feeding the goose almost daily. She noticed one day that all of the other geese had left and only the hurt young goose was in the pond. Later in the day, the flock returned, but Trisha worried about what would happen when other geese left for the winter, and "Winger" would be unable to join them.
She put up her announcement, and Patches from all over the region posted it. There was an outpouring of concern over the young goose, and people on every local Patch called for various methods of rescuing it.
Way up in Canada, an organization that rescues Canadian geese, saw the story on Patch called down to a group of people who rescue geese in Connecticut. These people wish to remain anonymous, but they are well-known to other bird rescue organizations in Connecticut and are often the recipients of injured birds that need rehabilitation.
“This is in your neck of the woods, can you go over there and see about that goose,” the Canada group asked.
Two rescuers got in the car and drove to Baummer's Pond in Naugatuck, where they saw the goose immediately. They approached the goose with bread, and the instant the goose bent his head, they scooped him up. “We told him it was time to come with us, and he came right over,” one of the women said.
The goose sat comfortably and quietly in the lap of the passenger all the way to his new home. He is now happily ensconced in a fenced in area with a pond and a barn for warmth in the winter. He also shares company with several other geese with the same affliction.
