Goose continues slow recovery from arrow wound

Posted 4/12/19

The condition of “Pierce,” the Canada goose shot by an arrow (possibly in the vicinity of the Bourne Mill Apartments in north Tiverton), continues slow improvement at the Cape Wildlife Center …

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Goose continues slow recovery from arrow wound

Posted

The condition of “Pierce,” the Canada goose shot by an arrow (possibly in the vicinity of the Bourne Mill Apartments in north Tiverton), continues slow improvement at the Cape Wildlife Center staff announced in a Wednesday update.

The goose has a long way to go, they said, but is resting comfortably after surgery last week to remove the arrow.

In a Facebook post, the center said:

“PATIENT UPDATE: “Pierce” the Canada Goose continues to recover after emergency surgery to remove an arrow from his chest. The NEWCS vet care team is providing nutritional support, pain meds, antibiotics, and wound care with a honey bandage treatment. He has also started his first round of chelation therapy to lower the level of lead in his body.

Our hope is he’ll be more stable after this first course of treatments and can undergo further surgery to clean his wound. Our vet care team discovered that the arrow fractured a portion of his keel bone. The keel bone helps anchor the pectoral muscles which are essential to flight, and helps protect the internal organs behind the bone. If this arrow had landed even a few inches further into the body, it would have likely been a fatal shot.

Due to his multiple injuries, infection, lead poisoning, and muscle trauma, Pierce’s prognosis is still uncertain, but for now he is resting comfortably. We'll continue to do everything we can to help him return to the wild.

Thank you all for your interest and support! If you’re interested in donating to help pay for the medicine, medical care, and nutrition support that Pierce is receiving, Please help today at:

https://secure.lglforms.com/form_e…/s/gZ6XZPXM1sT3-WJX8ik8hg

We’ll continue to keep you posted on his recovery.”

No leads on shooter

Tiverton Police have so far been able to identify the person who shot the goose.

The focus of the investigation led to Tiverton after police were called to the north parking lot of Bourne Mill Apartments at 5:24 p.m. on Sunday, March 24, for a report of a goose shot with an arrow. The chief said it is likely that the goose is the same one that had been spotted numerous times since then.

When it was finally captured last week, the goose was in Cook Pond in Fall River. Cook Pond’s southern end is next to the Bourne Mill apartments on State Avenue which straddles the Tiverton/Fall River line.

The goose was later transported to the Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable where it underwent a 45-minute operation Thursday to remove the arrow. The procedure was headed by veterinarian Dr. Priya Patel.

Still, said Zak Mertz, executive director of the Cape wildlife facility, the wound had been aggravated by the goose’s movements and stress during the more than two weeks since it had been shot.

At one point during the surgery, the goose’s vital signs “crashed,” forcing the team to ease up on anesthesia and perform what amounted to CPR. The goose’s condition was described as critical after the surgery.

On Tuesday, Mr. Mertz said that, in addition to dealing with trauma from the arrow wound, the goose was suffering from significant lead poisoning (unrelated to the arrow — he said many Canada geese here have elevated lead levels), malnutrition, dehydration, infection and more. He then described its status as “guarded.”

During surgery, the team discovered that the goose had also previously been shot by an Airsoft pellet. That pellet has not been removed.

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