Guard Goose Gertrude

I have had Gertrude, my little female goose for just over two years now.

Normally she is as placid as anything, doing her best to keep my small lawn 'mowed.' Whenever friends, the UPS delivery, or the postal carrier come onto the property, she looks at them, gives a polite "hello" honk, and then goes about her business. People chuckle at it, and often take pictures of my 'guard-dog goose.'

Gertrude earned that title three weeks ago.

We had a car thief hitting the area almost every night. Yet when he tried to get into my old truck, Gertrude charged at him, honking and hissing all the way, leading him on a merry romp down the neighborhood. I finally caught up with them about ten minutes later, finding her at the base of a tree, looking and hissing at the thief as he pleaded for me, or my gathering neighbors, to "get that devil-bird away from me."

The officers who made the arrest, they still talk about "Guard Goose Gertrude," and a thief who was outsmarted by a goose.