State probes killing of pet goose
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By Rob Young/Appeal-Democrat
April 25, 2007 - 12:54PM
It’s easy to make jokes when a goose is cut down in a Saturday night shooting incident.
“Goose forgets to duck,” the headline might read.
But Wee Wee was no ordinary goose, and his death this past Saturday near his home at Highway 20 and Kibbe Road is no joke to his owners and their neighbors, including an 8-year-old girl who’s lost a most unusual playmate.
And it’s not a joke to the California Department of Fish and Game, which is investigating the death of Wee Wee, a Canadian goose, as the illegal shooting of a wild animal, said DFG Warden Nate Stebbins.
To his owners and neighbors, Wee Wee was anything but wild. Rescued from the Sacramento River when he was a fuzzy yellow gosling, Wee Wee would play for hours with his young neighbor on Kibbe Road, Amanda Thomas, said the girl’s father, Matt Thomas.
Wee Wee also liked to ride in his owners’ boat when they went fishing, he said.
When the owners, Todd and Sherri Hulse, arrived home from work, Wee Wee would be waiting for them at the gate to their property. He learned to fly by following a motorcycle driven by Todd, said Thomas.
“The goose was like a child to him,” said Thomas.
The Hulses could not be reached for comment.
Wee Wee was a little more than a year old when his life ended shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday.
Thomas said he heard shotgun blasts and found the bird floating in a neighboring farmer’s rice field, which had recently been planted.
Rice farmers normally do their best to keep geese out of their fields, but this particular farmer knew Wee Wee was a pet and didn’t seem to mind. The shooter was not acting at the behest of the farmer, said Thomas.
The shooter, also a neighbor, either did not see – or ignored – signs that Sherri Hulse had posted along a private road near the rice field: “Please Don’t Shoot The Pet Goose.”
A Yuba County Sheriff’s Department deputy responded but turned the case over to Fish and Game because Wee Wee was – officially, anyway – a wild animal.
Stebbins said he will recommend to the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office that a charge of shooting a wild goose out of season be filed against the shooter, whom he did not identify. Other charges, including discharging a gun less than 150 yards from a residence, are possible, he said.
Thomas said he’s not only bothered about the death of Wee Wee. He’s also concerned about the safety of his two children, who play in the same area where the bird was shot.
“I’m glad to see this is not being swept under the rug,” he said.
One particular memory of Wee Wee will stick in Thomas’ mind. Sitting at the dinner table, the children would look up and see the bird watching them through the window and break into laughter, he said.
There’s not a doubt in Thomas’ mind that Wee Wee was thoroughly domesticated. When wild geese flew overhead, Wee Wee would ignore them. When the wild birds landed, he refused to join them.
Wee Wee “had personality and a character of his own. He was amazing,” said Thomas.
Appeal-Democrat reporter
Rob Young can be reached at 749-4710. You may e-mail him at ryoung@appealdemocrat.com.
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