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Health & Fitness

Update on Sir Limps A Lot

Update on Sir Limps A Lot, the Canada goose drake with the broken leg at 270/Olive

Boy, I have always said that working with animals gives whole new meanings to colloquialisms, and the phrase "Wild Goose Chase" took on a whole new meaning for me 20 years ago.

As I have written, there is an office park on Olive near 270 where there is an office full of Good Samaritan people who have been trying to find help for a wild Canada goose in their parking lot for the last 6 weeks.  He has a broken leg.  They are feeding him round the clock, and one lady that I met today has bought him two water bowls, which she was there filling for him today while dropping off cracked corn and unsalted almonds, since her childhood bowl was recently stolen, leaving him without access to water.  They found me somehow after contacting the zoo, the MO Dept of Conservation, the MO Wildlife Rescue Center, etc; no one was able to help them but I am trying to do my best.

I have made several attempts to catch Sir Limps A Lot, but since he is fully flighted, it is nearly impossible for now.  By June he will be going into molt, where all his flight feathers of last year will drop out and be replaced by a new year's set.  During this time, he will be unable to fly and be a "sitting duck".

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However, the luxury of time is not on our side, since cars are speeding through the parking lot, frequently narrowly missing him, and causing collective group heart attacks.  This is especially problematic, according to the volunteer feeder lady that I met today, after hours when people are leaving from a near by bar and are inebriated. 

I borrowed a net "gun" (it uses a canister to shoot the net, is not a firearm) from Geese Peace St. Louis today and tried my hand, but sadly, I proved to be much more adept at catching a friendly (and rather slow moving) tree while Sir Limps perfectly capably flew off, in horror.  I followed him to Mercy Hospital's pond, where he was taking a refreshing bath, having a Martini, and texting his friends about crazy women with yellow net guns.  Grrrr ... although it is not such a good analogy, I felt like "wringing some necks"!  I hurts SO MUCH to care SO MUCH and to be so desperately concerned to save a creature in harms way, and to not be able to succeed.

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Yet.  Regretably, I have a lot of Stubborn German on both sides of my pedigree, and my lot of Irish Temper (I said a bad word when I missed with the "net gun") will keep me trying to get this beauty and get him the help that he needs.  I so wish that my stoic Danish and Swiss sides would keep me mellow enough to not be running around, spending all this time and emotional and physical energy, but until there are no more unwanted or hurt animals, I am afraid that this is my lot in life.

The office people are networking for raising funds for his veterinary care, and also jokingly networking for raising money for my $109.00 traffic ticket (my first ever, I am now not hated by all my friends who have not "managed to get away on cute" all these years, as they accuse me).  I happen to be honoured that the first time that I got a traffic ticket in my 46 years of existence was trying to help Sir Limps A Lot.

So, collectively keep your fingers crossed for all of us and Sir Limps,

Dorene, Fugitive at Large (well, at least until my check clears the bank, I just got it a week ago today).

Dorene Olson, BA, APDT, AKC CGC Evaluator

WyndSong Border Collies and Canada Goose Management, TARA Training and Behavior, LLC

www.doreneolson.com

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