Good for the goose

Couple turn home into haven for neglected, hurt waterfowl

As soon as the sun comes up over the Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary in Arlington, the Garey family swings open the barn doors to let their flock free.

At dusk, whether it’s storming, freezing or sweltering, Mike, Jennifer and their 18-yearold daughter, Elizabeth, rinse out water buckets and usher the birds back into the barn for the night.

Their schedule completely revolves around the 15 geese and 12 ducks they have rescued since founding the sanctuary in 2007.

“We always have to be here for them,” Jennifer Garey said. “We made a vow to them, and we have to keep it.”

Jennifer, the Mother Goose of the Garey home, grew up getting yellow downy ducklings as presents at Easter, then letting them loose in lakes and ponds when they grew up.

She and her husband, Mike, bought goslings and ducklings for the one-acre pond in their backyard, thinking they’d eventually fly the coop.

They discovered that domestic geese and ducks, like the ones sold at Tractor Supply and co-ops, are flightless. Because they’re flightless, when they’re abandoned at parks, community lakes and ponds, they can’t fend for themselves.

“They’re stuck where they are,” Mike said. “They get caught up in fishing line and fish hooks, cut up their feet on bottle caps, concrete and glass. If a predator doesn’t get them, they’re going to starve or get an infection in their feet and die.”

When well-taken care of, ducks live about eight to 10 years, while geese can live 30 to 40 years.

In the wild, they only survive about a year.

“We call it ‘ innocent ignorance’ because most people think they’ll be OK, they’ll fly away,” Mike said. “They wouldn’t take a day-old puppy, raise it for a month, then let it loose in the park. This is the exact same thing.”

So Mike and Jennifer, along with their three daughters (two of whom have since gone off to college) transformed their pet project into a haven for injured and starved birds at their Arlington home.

The rust-red barn the flock stays in at night is air- conditioned and insulated to prevent the ducks and geese from getting sick. Rubber duck curtains on the windows and well-worn toys on the floor make the bird barracks feel like a home.

They have ponds to splash in under the shade and misters they can cool off under, and an electrified fence protects them from the hungry jaws of coyotes and foxes.

“I’ve heard things hit the fence at night, and it’s awful, but I have to take care of my babies,” Jennifer said.

Actually rescuing the birds is usually the easiest part because domestic geese and ducks aren’t naturally aggressive.

“Once you get them into your arms, they calm down,” Mike said.

But human intervention can sometimes slow down the process, even with support from authorities.

“We do have people stop us when we’re trying to rescue them,” Jennifer said. “They don’t want us to take [the ducks and geese] because they look pretty.”

Once the animal is rescued, the Gareys make sure it receives proper medical attention from Dr. Shannon McGee at the Collierville Animal Clinic.

Although the sanctuary accepts donations, the Gareys primarily use personal finances to pay for the medicine, food and hay the animals need.

Last year, they spent between $5,000 and $6,000 on veterinarian bills alone.

Even t hough t hey haven’t taken a family vacation since they started the sanctuary, the Gareys are happy to invest their time and money to make sure every duck and every goose is happy and healthy.

“They give us more joy than we could ever give them,” Mike said.

To learn more about the sanctuary or to make a donation, visit featheredangels.org.