Unlikely best friends: A man and his goose
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How many people can say a goose is their best friend?
If they’re speaking literally, we at Unleashed can think of only one: Jesus Hernandez of West L.A.
It all started five years ago when Hernandez purchased what he thought was a duckling at an area pet store for $5. But Chacho the ‘duckling’ quickly grew to become a full-sized goose -- and Hernandez’s neighbors were none too pleased with the loud honking noises they heard emanating from his backyard.
So Hernandez made the difficult decision to release his beloved pet in a Boyle Heights park he found while in the neighborhood for a guitar lesson. The park’s lake contained other geese and ducks for Chacho to socialize with -- but of course it was still hard to say goodbye. Our colleague Bob Pool explains:
The goose followed him back to his car, honking plaintively and running to keep up. Hernandez finally scooped up his friend and placed him gently in the lake where a wall forms the shoreline. The barrier gave him time to retreat to his car. ‘It was very hard to leave him. When I left I was crying,’ he says. He returned to the park with a loaf of bread and Chacho’s favorite cereal when he began his visits. The goose made a beeline for him as he stepped into the park.
Hernandez has returned to the park twice a week to visit Chacho for the past two years. (He now brings tortillas for the other resident birds as well.)
Hernandez relaxes on the grass on his biweekly visits. ‘I don’t worry about somebody getting too close to me because he protects me,’ he tells Pool. (Protection from a goose, if you’re wondering, equals honking at strangers and pecking at their shoes.)
Pool takes the story from here:
After a while Chacho begins honking at Hernandez and gently poking him with his beak. ‘That means he wants me to follow him to the water,’ Hernandez explains. Nearby, park visitor Alvaro Contrares, a 35-year-old construction worker, watches with a large grin on his face. ‘It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this. I’d never try to pick up a goose,’ Contrares says.
If you’re wondering, city officials don’t approve of residents dumping pets in public parks -- but Chacho doesn’t have to know that.
For more on Hernandez and Chacho, check out Pool’s story and its accompanying (and wonderful) audio slideshow.
--Lindsay Barnett