A lone goose stranded on ice in Illinois
Some stories just need to be told.
Those words came from Amy Reed Tavolino of Wheaton, Ill., when she shared a sad tale this week on my FB page. (Many of us are lovers of geese and other waterfowl, and we share our encounters, sad, lukewarm, tragic, maddening, happy or otherwise.)
Tavolino is a volunteer for a bird rescue group, Chicago Bird Collision Monitors (CRCM), so she is always on the lookout for birds in trouble.
When someone finds an injured bird, they can call the hotline, she says; then we email or text a reply.
My husband and I mainly do geese/duck rescues. This pond, she says, is about 20 minutes from my house. She also grew up in Lombard where the goose was found.
Here is her story:
“This rescue is not about a sexy snowy owl, or an eagle that has lost its way …. just a goose.
“On a pond in Lombard with very thin ice sat a lone goose planted in the middle. Thought she was stuck in the ice so made some calls for the city to come and help. No luck. Noticed while watching her that her legs were underneath her, so probably were not frozen but injured.
“For almost three hours with the help of a 200-foot rope tried to get the rope under her belly to slide her towards land. She was not able to use her legs but would use her wings to move away from the rope. Then I tied a carrier to one end and I pulled on the other to cause more tension to bring her towards me. Failed.
“Then I tried a coat tied to the rope and a carrier. Failed again. Darkness was setting in so we had one more shot. Tied two carriers to the end then slowly dragged her towards me. We got her, and picked her up. She was very cold and weak. She rested her head on my arm as I tried to get her warm. She could not move her legs.
“The rehabber was closing in five minutes so she had to stay the night with us. In a warm quiet dark place, she passed away overnight.
“Some may say that we should of left her and that it was “nature”. Keep in mind that from my experience only a handful of geese (out of hundreds) have had natural illnesses, which is nature. The rest of them have had injuries caused by humans (guns, fishing line, baseball bats, cars). That is not nature.
Others, including myself, were almost in tears as we read Amy’s tale.
“That’s truly a sad story, Amy, but it shows you have a heart of gold,” wrote Gayle Koszut Reed. “You comforted a creature during her last hours. So few would show that much compassion for a wild goose. You did a wonderful thing.”
You are amazing Amy,” said Kyu Kim. “Bittersweet but glad you were able to make her warm and comfortable.”
“God love you, Amy,” said Mary Beth Purdy Artz, an actress, singer and wildlife advocate from Brooklyn. “You are truly an angel. I'm so sorry but thank you for making her last hours comfortable.”
“These rescues are always hard,” said Gary Davis. “Thanks for sticking with it and giving the goose at least a few hours of warmth and peace at the end.”
"Just a goose. Those words break my heart. Thank you for being so compassionate. Thank you for taking the time to try over and over and over again to get her off the ice. Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for giving her a warm safe place to pass. Thank you for telling your stories,” wrote Jessica Solley “Thank you for trying to help.”
“You are amazing. I posted this story on our movie page. I hope you don't mind,” said filmmaker Tyler A Chase of New York City.
“You are a savior among saviors,” added Hans Lim.
Amen.