Abner the Goose Saved After Dog Attack

One goose now has a second chance after a dog attack ruffled his feathers.

A citizen took the goose to Cobb County Animal Control after it was attacked by a dog in Powder Springs. Cobb County veterinarian Amy Belew performed surgery on the rare Chinese goose, who is being called Abner.

Belew’s friend, who owns the South Cobb stable where her own horse is kept, will foster the goose and provide follow-up care and medication. Antibiotics for a goose are administered in grapes, and they eat grass and grain.

The goose will be housed in a 10x10 chicken coop on the horse stable property.

“We normally don’t do wildlife,” said Cobb AC Field Services Manager Tom Flynn.

In cases like this one, Flynn said, “We deal with them because you want to do the right thing.”
Because many local vets deal with household pets, Flynn said the goose may have  been euthanized if taken to another location.

The goose should be healed soon and released back into the wild as long as its wounds remain free from infection, Flynn said.

“It was a no-brainer (caring for the goose)… No one wants to euthanize an animal just because it got injured, and we were able to do something about it,” Flynn said.

“That’s why I love this job. It’s so rewarding.”