A prominent figure is missing from the Public Gardens. Mother Goose,
called “Momma” by her friends, passed away this week under mysterious
circumstances.
Momma was over 20 years old, which in goose years made her a senior
citizen. Though she may have died of old age, Police and Gardens staff
haven’t ruled out foul play.
Groundskeepers found the goose sprawled out on the path by the South
Park Street gate early Monday morning. Gardens staff called police to
the scene, after seeing potential signs of trespassing, such as an
overturned bench.
“There was some thought that sometime overnight, someone may have
entered the gardens and killed the goose,” says Halifax Regional Police
constable Brian Palmeter.
“I’ve got my fingers crossed that nobody would do something that
cruel,” says gardener Sheldon Harper.
Police will investigate further if autopsy results determine that
the goose died of unnatural causes.
Tracy Jessen, a gardener who fed Momma regularly, says caring for
the goose was one of the highlights of the workday, especially after
recently losing her dog. Jessen sometimes worried about Momma when she
couldn’t be with her.
“Earlier this spring some young kids were kicking her,” says Jessen.
“She’s helpless. She’s lovely, she’s not aggressive. There’s no
reason.”
To many of the gardeners, Momma was more than just a wildlife
specimen. Wilson calls the goose “a good friend,” and describes her as
“peaceful,” “gentle” and “always good-natured.”
The chatty goose provided company for lone workers early in the
mornings: “When I would come down in the morning…I’d yell over to
her, ‘Good Morning Momma,’ and she’d always squawk back” says
Harper.
Another groundskeeper remembers that “Momma loved being sung
Zeppelin’s ‘Black Dog’ and other songs with her name in them while she
ate breakfast.” —Lizzy Hill
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2009.
judging by some of the vandalism and violence i’ve seen in HRM, it would not surprise me in the least if it turned out that Mother Goose was beaten & brutalized by some mindless sociopathic punk.
nothing will send me into a fit of rage like animal cruelty – i could easily bash someone’s skull in for that – and feel good about it too.
i think Momma should get a burial ceremony and epitaph at the Gardens… and an autopsy should be done to determine the cause of death.
An autopsy is in fact being done. And, Dawn Sloane has asked that a plaque commemorating Mother Goose be installed.
That request is of the quality I have come to expect from Sloane. Too bad we don’t have a recall provision in our electoral statutes.
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I find it interesting that when the CTV TV news reported MG’s death, they mentioned nothing at all about the poor thing being potentially beaten to death. If they do indeed find that the animal was killed on purpose, I would not be surprised. Seems par for the course lately for downtown Halifax.
Autopsy results are in, revealing that the goose had a stomach tumor. Some gardeners still suspect foul play though, as there were signs of vandalism.
Gardeners encourage anyone who has photos of Momma to upload them to the “We love the Halifax Public Garden’s” facebook page.