A goose named Maria flies alongside Dominic Ehrler, 65, as he drives his motor scooter in Los Angeles. The goose has taken a liking to Ehrler, who visits it every morning
Posted on 02/19/2011 1:26:04 PM PST by JoeProBono
LOS ANGELES, A Los Angeles man said he befriended a goose that meets him in the park each morning and follows him around like a dog.
Dominic Ehrler, 65, a retired investor, said Maria the Goose began following him around Echo Park 10 months ago and she now meets him every day at 8 a.m. as he begins his walk around the lake to toss tortillas to the other birds, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.
"When she first started following me around like a dog I got goose bumps," Ehrler said. "David Foster, one of the parks people here, finally introduced me to her. He said, 'You know you're being stalked! Her name is Maria.'"
Ehrler said Maria is very protective and will peck and bite at strangers who come too close to him. He said their daily encounters end with him riding off on his scooter and her following closely in the air until he circles back to the park and delays her with a fence.
"Oncoming motorists are always surprised. You can see their eyes get real big when they see Maria behind me. She's a big bird," he said.
Ehrler said he will follow Maria if the city follows through on plans to relocate her and the park's other geese while Echo Park is renovated.
"They're supposed to collect the birds and truck them to another lake. I plan to follow her there, because when you have a friend like this you don't want to lose her," he said.
A goose named Maria flies alongside Dominic Ehrler, 65, as he drives his motor scooter in Los Angeles. The goose has taken a liking to Ehrler, who visits it every morning
Man-eater?
Don't mess with 'em.
>> Man finds a friend in goose
It’s either a tiny little friend, or a really big goose, or both.
Did he have to cut the goose open to find his friend, or did he do a reach-in through one end or the other?
I think the proper action is to turn one's head and pretend one didn't see.
And re-think one's choice of friends.
I used to see this guy driving around Hollywood in a convertible with a cat sitting on top of the convertible boot. It was hilarious... but I think this is even better!
My Lab would love to have a pet Goose. They could go swimming together.
ping
My Lab would love to have a pet Goose. They could go swimming together.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Story is he went to work with Goose and his boss told him he couldn’t stay.
The guy explained his ‘plight’ and the boss told him to take the afternoon off and take Goose to the zoo.
Guy shows up next day with Goose in tow, the boss approached him and guy says “Wait a minute boss, Goose liked the zoo so much I would like this afternoon off to take him to the Dodger game”.
Baby geese “imprint” on whoever is around them when they hatch or shortly thereafter. Imprinting is a biological tool that enables baby fowl to know who momma is (since she’s usually the first thing they see) and then follow her around and learn how to be geese/ducks/swans, whatever. Geese are particularly famous for imprinting on humans, and I had friends who worked in bio labs and had entire flocks of ducks and geese imprinted on them and following them around, quacking wildly, every time they appeared.
However, this sounds like a goose who was old enough to know better. And having been around geese...I think Dominic should watch his back. They can get very nutsy, and you never know when it might happened.
I remember being attacked by a formerly friendly goose one time when I was lying on a chaise in my yard...because my formerly friendly goose had found a girlfriend among our little flock and when the two of them were waddling across our yard on their way to the pond, the female went on one side of the chaise and the male continued on the other side. And then suddenly he looked up and there I was, lying there...clearly an evil force trying to separate him from his beloved.
Ah, sweet mystery of geese.
I think the problem is that my Lab tries too hard to get close to them.
I wonder if this story is in any way related to the one yesterday about the guy in Mississippi that loved the pigs.
A PO’ed goose is not something to be trifled with.
. .and yet , truffles are good with roasted goose.
My Lab also tries to get Swans to be her BFF. Fortunately they haven’t successfully attacked her yet.
I think the problem is that my Lab tries too hard to get close to them.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
hmmm..Black Lab? White Goose?......
If you notice in the text the dude said he got ‘goose bumps’ when the goose approached and what you can see of Casper Milquetoast in the photo the Goose following him doesn’t surprise me.
Lets see, I managed to alienate Blacks, Whites, Animal lovers, meek people and ‘jump to conclusion types’.
All in all, a good afternoon.
The lab is first and foremost a retriever.......... just doing her job
How do you find these great stories? That is an amazing pic!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.