Gonzales woman coordinates 8-week effort to rescue injured goose

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Raelynn Morrisey and her daughter spend time outside every day with the geese near their neighborhood pond. When one of them got hurt, Morrisey did everything she could to help.

“I didn’t expect to spend the last eight weeks focused on a goose,” Morrisey said.

In March, a blow dart was found lodged in the neck of a Canadian goose near the pond. Conservationist Polly Glover with Restore or Retreat warned then that without help, the bird would likely die.

Because of Morrisey’s efforts, the goose is no longer carrying the 5-inch blow dart through its neck.

Waiting for the right moment

Morrisey got in touch with Glover, and they watched and waited for the goose to come back to the pond. Because the bird is a federally protected species, a license is required to handle and help it. Thursday evening, they made their move.

“I said, ‘Ok, here we go the goose chase is gonna continue,” Glover said.

With a net gun, they captured the goose.

“Of course she hissed for a second, but it seemed like she knew because she immediately calmed down, and even when Mr. Todd let me release her, she didn’t fly away immediately; she just stood there,” Morrisey said.

Glover helped coordinate the rescue with Todd Baker, a conservationist with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. Together they removed the dart, cleaned the wounds, and gave the goose antibiotics. They said the goose seemed relieved.

“Look at her little eyes; she was telling us thank you,” Glover said.

They named the goose Sage as a shoutout to the neighborhood.

“There’s no doubt watching her fly away yesterday I said mission accomplished; we had done what we intended to do,” Glover said.

Click here to report a typo. Please include the headline.

Click here to subscribe to our WAFB 9 News daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.