So, I'm drivin' into work this morning and I tune into a rock station from Chicago that showcases a famous DJ named Jonathon Brandmeier. A real creative, funny, talented radio guy that got wooed back to Chicago from California within the last year. Anyway, Brandmeier (Jonny B) is at a far-south Suburb of Chicago, Frankfort. He is with a crew and using his cell phone. He's visiting this guy name Dutch, and his now famous resident C Goose named Harley. Jonny B is on his cell phone, sending back play-by-play as he rides on the back of Dutch's H-D motorcycle and Harley the goose is flying along with them at a clip of about 32 mph. He says that the goose's wingtips are so close that they occassionally brush his shoulder as they ride along. Dutch says that he takes the goose out for rides in the country on the weekends, and Harley flies right along next to him all the way. Dutch describes how he is careful about congested areas, tight turns, etc.
Here's an article from one of the biker sites:
About five months ago, a small gosling showed up in a man's yard. The man named the gosling "Harley" and a friendship developed. Craig Wall has more on the man and his goose. HE MAY LOOK AND SOUND LIKE AN ORDINARY GOOSE, BUT HE'S NOT. "It's a unique thing, you'd never see this in your lifetime." THIS STORY STARTED IN MAY WHEN A TINY GOSLING SHOWED UP IN DUTCH KAFFEL'S YARD. AND STAYED. "He's been here ever since, he's uh, we don't keep him penned in, he just stays with the family. He thinks we are his family." AND THEY TREAT THE GOOSE LIKE A PET, NAMING HIM. HARLEY. BECAUSE OF DUTCH'S LOVE FOR A CERTAIN MOTORCYCLE. DUTCH HAS BECOME SO ATTACHED TO HARLEY THAT THE BIRD'S ALMOST BECOME LIKE A FAMILY DOG. "That's correct. In frankfort most of the people are walking their dogs, i'm flying a goose." AND THIS IS WHAT HE MEANS. DUTCH TRIES TO TAKE HARLEY FOR A RIDE TWICE A DAY. USUALLY JUST UP AND DOWN THE BLOCK. BUT SOMETIMES THEY GO OUT IN THE COUNTRY, WHERE HARLEY'S FLOWN AS FAST AS 43 MILES AN HOUR. BUT HE HAD A HUMBLE START. "He'd start running through the yard flapping his wings. So we started on a scooter, chasing us, then a bicycle chasing us, and then finally when he got lift off it was following one of my sons on a bicycle." NOW ONLY THE MOTORCYCLE WILL DO. AND ONLY IF DUTCH IS DRIVING. "He won't follow anybody but me when he takes off to fly, q; so you're dad? Uh, apparently." NEIGHBORS FIND THE FRIENDSHIP HEARTWARMING. "I think it's funny, it's amazing that a goose goes next to a harley." DUTCH'S SON NICK HAS A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP TOO. HE CAN HOLD HARLEY LIKE A CAT. "I want to keep him as long as it lives, but my dad wants to get it with other geese." "If I have to keep him through the winter I will, and then next season, when it's time for the geese to mate, i'm gonna introduce him into a big flock and I think mother nature will take over." BUT UNTIL HARLEY'S READY TO FLY AWAY WITH A FLOCK, DUTCH WILL LET HIM FLY ALONG WITH HIM.
Brettski - This could be the beginning of an on-going Strange Pet Thread.
I once had a German Shepard that liked rocks. You could throw a rock in the river and he would dive down and bring the same rock back to you. You could throw a rock as far as you could out in the middle of a weed choked field and he would sniff it out and bring it back. . He was always carrying a big rock around, hoping a rock tosser would appear.
This is the same dog that loved the 4th of July holiday and would pick up Roman candles and smoke balls, carrying them around in his mouth shooting fireballs and spewing smoke.
Koa is long gone, but not forgotten!
Geese are famous for imprinting on strange things and beings they believe are their Mother. I've never heard of one affixating on a Harley before - it gives a different meaning to "Motorcycle Mama".
Ugh, wonder what happens if Dutch has to stop in traffic? Wonder if the goose keeps flying, or lands on the road?
I like to watch the National Geographic story about "Father Goose", where a flock of geese are imprinted on an ultralight plane. They follow it just like it's their momma. It's quite a sight to see them all taking off and landing together.
Great story, Brettski!
Here's my recent animal story...We've had a black lab take up residence on Meadowlark Ranch. Someone, unbelievably, must have dumped him. He has become completely loyal to the family. Before retiring recently, we would be gone a week at a time and "Duke" (short for Marmaduke) would be waiting patiently for our return each week. Duke is now the CEC on Meadowlark Ranch...Chief Executioner of Cormorants. The dog practically lives in one of the ponds. Animals are great!
That really is a touching story.
My dog likes to shoulder down and roll in the dung of other animals.
I'm so proud.
Sunil - Having a rough Monday?
Dwight,
Had a Black Lab named Bear that did the exact thing with rocks. Friends would try to fool him by marking the rock, thinking Bear would bring back any rock. I might have wagered once or twice on that dog........again...gone but not forgotten.
Originally posted by Sunil:
That really is a touching story.
My dog likes to shoulder down and roll in the dung of other animals.
I'm so proud.
...lap-dog I presume?
-
-
-
:p
BarO - The hardest part for my friends to believe was the diving under water to retrieve the rock. We tested him a lot on that one and he never missed once.
No, Dwight, my Monday has been OK, and yes, Brettki, he is a lap-dog. That's why things get more unpleasant when he indulges himself.
It may simply be his way of getting back at me for having his nuts lopped off when he was a puppy. I've tried to convince him that the fateful day was hard on me too, but to no avail.
Sunil, if it makes you feel any better my 60 lb liver and white greman short hair and lap dog loves to roll in fresh horse manure when out at the pond. This means she is liver and green for the ride home.
My lab/shepard like to ride on the back of the 4-wheeler. Problem is, he would rather sit up front and drive. Once we get down to the pond he HAS to have a swim, and then wonders why he is walking back to the house! I also have a Brittany that loves to snuggle, but between the Stick-Tight burrs (small ones), cockleburs, and the "odor of the week," she doesn't get much up close love.
Originally posted by Sunil:
That really is a touching story.
My dog likes to shoulder down and roll in the dung of other animals.
I'm so proud.
:D
......you have a gift sunil
my dad's side grandfather used to raise gamebirds back in the 20's, 30's, and 40's. my dad tells a story of a guinea fowl (named goofy) they had that was a pet on property (most of the other birds were caged). goofy hated anything on fire. people would come visit to look at or buy birds, if they were smoking a cigarette, goofy would stand right next to them and when they threw the butt on ground, goofy would grab it with his beak and snuff it out under his wing, batting his wing up and down on it, then he'd throw it back on ground and grind it in with his feet. this went on for almost 10 years. one day a guy was smoking a big cigar and goofy couldnt wait for him to finish, it was driving him crazy. he lurched up and took the cigar right out of the guys hand but when he tried to snuff it out under his wing he caught himself on fire. my quick thinking grandad hosed him down and he was fine. goofy lived to about 12 years old only to be cut down during a hard freeze one winter, he couldnt make it through night. they gave him to a taxidermist friend, had him mounted, and he's still with us today gracing a shelf in my dad's barn.
Originally posted by Shorty:
Sunil, if it makes you feel any better my 60 lb liver and white greman short hair and lap dog loves to roll in fresh horse manure when out at the pond. This means she is liver and green for the ride home. Foolish Cornhusker dog. Our Lab could tell your Short Hair that horse manure is for eating, cow manure is for rolling in. Dead things (well-aged) are the best of all for rolling.
I think I've told the story before when my dog (70lb. shepherd/lab/?/? mut) rolled in an "outdoor-aged," semi-opened, package of some type of Oscar-Myer luncheon meat. And yes...the weather had been very warm out.
Talk about a stink.
This was when we were still searching for some land with a pond on it, and we had a two hour drive home. Sure we did out best to get him washed of in the pond, but, well, it was still brutal.
Luckily, we had taken my wife's car.
Originally posted by Sunil:
Luckily, we had taken my wife's car.
I suspect that's one matter on which 100% spousal agreement was not quite reached.
I've got a friend who has a talking parrot he bought in a police auction. It had belonged to drug dealers and had a very broad vocabulary. Whenever my friend has house guests they are always amazed at the realism of the birds voice and his intelligence. The bird is always talking when people are around and if you can't see the bird in the other room you think there is another person talking. Funniest thing I ever saw is when my friend had a party one night where one guy was drinking too much. The bird was in the den being unusually quiet. The guy had heard about the bird and asked to see it for himself. That guest was in and out of the den all night long trying to get the bird to talk but he wouldn't. Finally at about 2:00 am the guy got real mad and cussed the bird out for being such a dumb &@#!?% bird and began to leave. As he walked out the door the bird said "hey jackass". When the guy turned around the bird finished with "&@#!?% off you drunken a-hole". This really happened. This bird was the subject of many funny stories around the office for years. Unfortunately he's no longer with us.
I once had a Lab that thought it was his job to keep the cats litterbox clean. We would yell "NO" when we saw that dog munch'n on them nuggets, but then the dog would turn to us and lick us to make up.
Originally posted by Gainesjs:
I once had a Lab that thought it was his job to keep the cats litterbox clean. We would yell "NO" when we saw that dog munch'n on them nuggets, but then the dog would turn to us and lick us to make up.
The vet said it's just like candy to them.
I had 4 boys and we were visiting with their cousins. While we were outside visiting the children became hungry and went into the house to fix a snack. When they came out you could not stand to be near them as they had a powerful odor. They had seasoned up some canned tuna and went heavy with the garlic until they stunk. To this day I can not eat tuna in any form, just the smell turns me off on food.
Originally posted by burgermeister:
Originally posted by Gainesjs:
I once had a Lab that thought it was his job to keep the cats litterbox clean. We would yell "NO" when we saw that dog munch'n on them nuggets, but then the dog would turn to us and lick us to make up.
...I am finished with Baby Ruths!!!
I have a 3 year old yellow lab that swims in my pond more than the fish do. She chases the birds around it and in it. One time I thought she was gonna drown chasing a duck on it, back and forth across a 2 acre pond. Recently she has been wading in the shallows along the edges in about 2 foot of water chasing perch or bass trying to sneek up on them like a cat. Its hilarious!
I really get a kick out of watching the dog around the pond. Whenever I spend time at the pond my black lab entertains herself by walking the shoreline trying to catch anything that moves. Usually she's catching frogs but once she actually got a 3/4 pound BG. She's gotten quite good at watching the frogs jump into the water and waiting for them to surface before diving in head first after them. Labs are great around water, they really like to swim.
ok, i have a dog story, Jerry, the terrier, on the edge of the pond, will make a splash with a paw and then he will bite at the splash but because it is just to his side he turns a little, then he splashes and lunges again and turns a little more, so the result is he is chasing splashes in circles and he has a little forward motion so he will go all the way down the shore splashing and circling. he loves fish food and waits for it to wash back to shore.
This is one of my Shepard’s that fights with the other one to ride shot gun, she refuses to get out. Between the two of them, the have crashed my Rangers into my Garage door, the side of my house and into the pond, learned how to open the frig in my shop and steal bottled water, open all the doors in the house, open the windows in my motor home, lift the toilet lid for a drink…the list goes on and on. It may sound like fun, but some times I want to smack them up side the head.
Originally posted by bz:
Usually she's catching frogs but once she actually got a 3/4 pound BG.
BZ,
Like this?
Originally posted by Sunil:
It may simply be his way of getting back at me for having his nuts lopped off when he was a puppy. I've tried to convince him that the fateful day was hard on me too, but to no avail.
Sunil,
This could be the anwser to your dog's issues.
Doggie Implants Ken
bobad....that pic made my day....thanks
Thanks, Ken. I'll have to take that under consideration, however, my buddy is like 13 years old now, so it may be too mentally taxing on him to "give him back" his wild oats so to speak.
Bobad, are those frogs still alive?
Originally posted by Sunil:
Bobad, are those frogs still alive?
Jim: Thanks! The yellow labs belong to a friend and fellow pondmeister.
Sunil: "No animals were punctured or harmed while producing this picture"
That's cool. I know that some dogs don't actually kill other animals but instead like to play with them.
Tell me about it. Every Spring our Lab tries to adopt baby skunks.
bobad, that pic is great. My dog also doesn't kill the frogs, just plays with them. But my frogs are leapard frogs that are only about 4 to 6 inches long, nothing like those giants.
Hey I was out hunting the other day and shot a canada goose. Thing must have weighed 15 pounds. Should have seen the lab. The goose fell into the pond and she had to push it to shore since she couldn't fit her mouth around it. Then it took here several minutes to figure out how to pick it up for the retrieve. She did it though, carried 200 yards back to the barn with head and wings dragging all the way.
