It’s often said that a dog is a man’s best friend but to 22 year old Gabby Bailey, a goose is a woman’s best friend. She found the injured goose on the side of the road in the UK four years ago and nursed the bird back to health despite having a fear of geese.
“He needed a safe place to stay. I never wanted a goose, I was terrified of geese – I thought they were as scary as anything” said Bailey.
Naming the goose ‘Pancake’, he taught her to overcome her fear and the two have since formed a unique bond over the past four years and spend all their time together.
“I was attacked by one as a kid but pancake has taught me that geese aren’t scary – they’re actually incredibly loving friendly animals who just have a bad rep.
“He’s amazing, we do a lot of stuff together like going to the beach or watching movies, he loves space and dinosaur movies, he loves going on bush walks, cuddling in bed, snuggling up in blankets, he’s a very spoiled boy.”
Pancake probably enjoys dinosaur movies such as Jurassic World. Aside from the whole dinosaurs breaking free and eating people, seeing humans caring for other species likely resonates with the goose and reminds him of his bond with Gabby.
Living with an exotic bird is nothing new to Bailey as she’s rescued other exotic animals and finds them more interesting than your typical dog or cat.
“I’ve rescued things like Pancake, possums, rats, birds, reptiles and that was definitely more my thing you know, I prefer that lot more and they have a way different personality.”
Bailey is not the only person who prefers exotic pets as there have also been people who’ve formed strong bonds with crocodiles.
A woman and her highly emotional bird
Pancake has a few red flags according to Bailey. He’s a little bipolar and gets jealous very quickly.
“Our bond is very different – some days he loves me, can’t get enough of me, and others he doesn’t ever want to look at me and wants to do his own thing.”
“Pancake got really angry because we got a new duck and he didn’t look at me for a whole week, he wouldn’t acknowledge my existence because he was upset.”
The bird has become used to living indoors and doesn’t like to go outside in bad weather.
“He doesn’t like the wet or rain, he screams if it’s raining”
Apparently he’s a very vocal bird who can scream all day or night. The volume ranges from little whispers to loud ear piercing screams.
Calling herself a stay-at-home goose mum, she considers Pancake to be her child.
“Once I was pushing him in a pram to get some snacks from town and an old friend from school saw me and said, ‘oh my gosh, I had no idea you had a baby – congratulations’, and when she looked in the pram Pancake honked in her face, so that was funny. He is my baby though.”
The responsibilities of a stay-at-home goose mum
Bailey runs a small animal rescue and spends her time caring for them which prevents her from having a full-time job.
“You can’t really have a full-time job with a house goose because they demand so much time with nappy changes, and just being around them.” explains Bailey.
“They are a flock animal so you become their flock – you can’t just leave all day as they would get depressed – they need to be around you and in your presence.”
Despite his mood swings and clinginess, Bailey says that Pancake is a spectacular animal who keeps her guessing and that she wouldn’t trade it for the world.