Honking pet goose wakes sleeping Texas family, saving animals from barn fire
A four-month-old pet goose alerted a Texas family to a fire in their barn by honking loudly outside it, allowing them to extinguish the blaze in time and save their animals. The incident on 4 August was captured on home security footage.
A pet goose named Goosey is being credited with saving a Texas family's animals after raising the alarm during a barn fire in Fort Bend county on the morning of 4 August.
Home security footage showed flames inside the barn, which housed several animals including chickens and turkeys. About 40 seconds into the recording, Goosey emerged from the barn and began squawking repeatedly, pacing back and forth while continuing the alarm-like noise.
The commotion woke Bert Gerber, who had fallen asleep on the couch after staying up late watching television. He told local outlet KHOU that he stepped outside and saw flames billowing from the barn, then grabbed a hose and rushed over to put out the fire. All the animals inside were found safe.
Bert said the outcome could have been far worse without Goosey's warning, noting that just a few more minutes of sleep might have let the fire spiral out of control.
An unlikely new family member
Bert's wife, Chelsea, said the family adopted Goosey on Mother's Day this year after their daughter fell in love with the bird at a poultry expo that featured a 'Hug a Goose' tent. Chelsea said she had historically been afraid of geese but agreed to bring Goosey home for her daughter's sake.
After watching the security footage and realising what the goose had done, the family said they were left in disbelief and felt extremely grateful to Goosey, who had only joined the household four months earlier.
