Gweny, Princess, Francine & Poppi – 3 Geese & A Duck…
The middle part of May, I received a call about a lone domestic goose languishing in a pond off of Penobscot Road in Greenwood, California. The caller stated that this particular goose used to have the company of 8+ domestic geese and a few ducks but now, due to predation, all were gone except for this one goose. So stressed at being all alone, lonely and basically a “sitting duck”, this goose had now begun the destructive behavior of pulling out her feathers. Well, that did it! Immediately, we agreed to welcome her to HartSong.
Prior to the arrival of Gweny, we had already made arrangements with a couple from Venice, California to welcome Princess and Francine – 2 domestic geese and a duck named Poppi. All three had been abandoned by their owners in the Venice Canal in southern California – sadly, a very common occurrence.
Michael, whom I now call the “goose man of Venice”, lived along the canal for years and witnessed firsthand, the predation of these beautiful feathered creatures by coyotes and unleashed dogs over and over again.
Unwilling to witness any more massacres, Michael captured those he could and welcomed them into his home. Years passed and then Michael and his fiancée Justine, found it necessary to relocate to Santa Rosa, California. Their new abode, however, did not allow for domestic fowl so they began to search for a suitable forever home and soon discovered HartSong Ranch.
A couple of months later, Michael and Justine arrived with the three birds in tow. Our main concern, prior to their arrival, was that we didn’t have a suitable shelter to house two geese and a duck but thankfully, the Wilson family in Cool, California kindly donated an oversized dog house. Immediately, we went to work, turning the dilapidated unit into a safe, secure place where Princess, Francine and Poppi could spend the evening hours. The dog house was in pretty good shape but it didn’t have a door, a suitable roof or a vent so considerable time was devoted to building a door, putting on a leak proof roof and venting the top. The last step – 3 layers of pretty, new paint – a PERFECT ABODE and a very happy ending for 2 homeless geese and a duck named Poppi!
