A Real Mother Goose

A Sutherlin resident nurses an injured goose back to health and gets a surprise visitor months later.

Story by Sarah Smith Photo by Thomas Boyd

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Mother Goose is often cited as the author of hundreds of children’s stories and nursery rhymes, which have been passed down from generation to generation and remain synonyms with joy, childhood and storytelling. But who is Mother Goose?

Many have theorized the origins of the sweet bonnet-clad character, but none have ever successfully attached Mother Goose to an individual writer or orator.

Is it possible she could be living in a nice subdivision in Sutherlin?

No, of course not. But Elly Shafer couldn’t be blamed for wanting to borrow her moniker.

A few years back, Elly found an injured juvenile goose on the hill behind her house. “He couldn’t walk or swim very well because he had a large golf ball-like growth in the middle of his wing,” Shafer recalls. “The day I spotted him, he was with his siblings staggering around.”

Shafer wasn’t able to capture him that day, but early the next morning Shafter managed to corner the critter, whom she would name Sid, and relocate him to a small cage in her garage. She suspected that Sid suffered from a vitamin and calcium deficiency. After weeks of treatment (and laps in his own kiddie pool), Sid’s health improved, the growth disappeared, and feathers replaced his baby down.

Sid claimed Shafer as his adopted mother, following her everywhere. Geese learn everything from their parents, including migratory routes and how to swim. “Whenever I went out to mow the lawn on my riding mower, he would run or fly after me,” Shafer says. “He joined our neighborhood picnics, and whenever he saw my neighbor in the early morning in her pink bathrobe, he would fly over to her, talking while she walked.”

All good things must come to an end is a proverb dating back to the 1300s that reminds us nothing lasts forever. Applied to this story, it serves as a reminder that the day will come when children leave the nest. Geese remain with their family group for about a year before forming flocks with other young geese.

So it was that Sid’s time to move on would arrive.

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“Even as I looked for Sid I knew it was futile. He was with the wild ones, just as it should be.” — Elly Shafer

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“One October day, I heard him honking up a blue streak,” Shafer says. “I was in the house and ran out to see what was going on. I called for him, but there was no answer. Even as I looked for Sid, I knew it was futile. I knew he was with the wild ones, just as it should be.”

Geese have a very strong instinct to return to their general area of birth to mate and nest. They will either return to the exact site or to a nearby body of water.

“I never thought I would see him again, but the following spring, a pair of geese flew into my driveway,” Shafer says. “I knew it was Sid and his mate. I couldn’t go up to him, but at least I knew he was safe and not alone. They stayed for a couple of weeks and left.”

It has been six years since Shafer first happened upon Sid. Every once in a while, a flock of geese will land in her field. Knowing geese can live up to 25 years, she’s hopeful that one day she and Sid will have another reunion.

“I enjoyed every minute of knowing him,” Shafer says, “and I’m grateful that I was able to help another fellow creature.”