How I Became Part of a Goose Family: Anderson and the Gang

The Fierce, Feathery Terror of Canadian Geese

Hello! Today, I'm talking about the time I became part of a family of the most insane, dangerous animals in the world—known for attacking random pedestrians just because they can. That’s right, I’m talking about Canadian geese.

If you’ve only seen pictures of these geese, you might think they’re just friendly-looking birds. But don’t be fooled. These birds contain all the wrath of every Canadian that has ever existed. Ever wonder why Canadians are so nice? It’s because all our anger gets projected into the friggin' geese.

Meeting Anderson and the Baby Geese

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering how I managed to get adopted into a family of these terrifying creatures. Well, let me tell you. It all started one day at my summer job. I saw some geese with their babies—two adults and two baby geese. One of my favorite parts of summer is watching baby geese waddle around, so I just watched them eat grass from a distance.

Nothing exciting happened that day, but after a huge storm hit that night, things changed. The next day, I showed up around lunch and saw only one adult goose with the two baby geese. I recognized them right away and felt concerned. Even though geese are at the top of the food chain (at least in their minds), I decided to approach them. How can I interact with a Canadian goose family? Well, I figured I would start by observing their behavior from a distance.

Feeding Anderson: A Bond is Formed

Remember, I was having lunch at the time. These geese looked like they had been through it. I glanced at the adult, and man, he looked exhausted. Depressed, even. But he was still looking out for his kids, so I gave them some food. That adult goose, who I named Anderson, went from defensive to just paranoid. He had clearly lost his mate and probably hadn’t slept all night.

The next day, Anderson showed up again. On the third day, though, he came back with another family of geese, forming a bigger group. It seemed like a “safety in numbers” thing, and Anderson definitely needed the help. So, of course, I couldn’t just feed Anderson and his kids without feeding the rest of them.

Anderson and the Growing Goose Gang

The other parents weren’t too thrilled about it, except Anderson, who was starting to warm up to me. The babies? They were all about it. Even when I didn’t have food, they’d come right up to visit. What behaviors should I expect when interacting with geese? This confused a few customers because a random goose would just waddle up to them. It gave me a chance to show people that geese aren’t always the mean creatures they’re made out to be.

Now, the new geese parents were interesting. I only remember one of their names—Jemal. He once beat up one of his own kids. We think maybe the baby was sick, but honestly, we still don’t know. Oh, and I eventually got my coworkers in on this too. After a while, we started bringing peas for the geese in bags because, well, we didn’t want to share our lunches all the time.

The Geese Get Comfortable

Weeks went by, and these geese got real comfortable with us. They’d run right up to us and even let us pet them. Anderson was doing better, which made me happy. I started calling them “Anderson and the Gang” because there were just too many to name individually.

Anderson seemed happier, and then one day, he brought another goose with him. I couldn’t tell if it was his original mate or if he’d found a new girlfriend, but either way, he was in a much better place. She quickly became part of the gang and fit right in.

Saying Goodbye to Anderson and the Gang

As the geese got older, they still came to visit, but some of them got a bit too bold. There were a couple who would steal food right out of our hands. How can I safely interact with geese? But as they grew up, we started to realize that soon, we’d have to say goodbye. It wasn’t something we thought about much because, you know, planning for the future? Who wants to do that?

This was just a summer job, and I didn’t live close by, so I knew that once the season ended, I’d probably never see them again. Now, before I wrap this up, let me share a couple of fun highlights. We once got bored and thought it’d be funny to bring the geese inside. They looked at us like, “Wait, we can do that?” and then they did. Big mistake on our part because now they realized there was nothing stopping them from waltzing into the store at random. So yeah, a few surprise goose visits happened.

Another time, I was chatting with a customer when I turned around to see Anderson and the gang running up to me. The customer was so confused; it was priceless.

The Final Visit

Fast forward to my last days at work, and I hadn’t seen the gang in a while. I started worrying I wouldn’t get to say goodbye. Then, just around lunchtime, they showed up. What was once a few adults and some babies had now grown into a large group of adult geese. I hadn’t seen them in about a week, so I wasn’t sure if they’d still recognize me. But sure enough, they did. That’s when it hit me: this was the last time I’d see them.

I watched these geese grow from cute little babies to awkward teens to full-grown adults. I gave them the last of my lunch, and then I rushed back to work. That was the final time I saw Anderson and the gang. Maybe I’ll see them again someday. I hope so.

Conclusion: A Feathered Goodbye

And that’s the story of how I became part of a goose family. It wasn’t even the first time! But the first time involved hundreds of geese and a bag of Doritos—that’s a story for another day. Thanks for reading about Anderson and the gang! If you enjoyed this post, check out some of my other stories below. And if you really enjoyed it, consider subscribing to my newsletter so you never miss a post. See you next time!

Anderson

Jemal

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