Merchants at The Shops of Molly Lane in Cherokee County don’t like loitering. But this one time, they’re making an exception.
"We've all grown pretty fond of him. We're an organization of volunteers, so we have tender hearts for him and his plight,” Samantha Jesse said.
This "loiterer" is a Canada goose that hangs around like it owns the place.
"Well, I'll tell you, I was here last week and it was walking across the street. All the cars were stopping and letting it go by,” mall contractor Herb Haeberlie said.
Both merchants and customers say the bird showed up over the summer. A few months back, its mate was hit by a car.
"I just feel bad for him. He doesn't leave a mess in front of my store. I just feel bad for him. He doesn't need to live on the concrete. He needs a gaggle,” merchant Alex Benson said.
It’s true that Canada geese mate for life. While most at the strip mall believe the bird is depressed because it no longer has a partner, an officer with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources says if the goose has food and cover, life is good.
It will likely move on in a few months and find a new mate.
But some in the shopping center would like to help him out.
"Goose-Match.com. We need to get him an online profile and see if we can find him a new mate and make him happy again,” customer Kelly Chappuis said.
The DNR says don’t feed it, leave it alone, and hopefully the bird will avoid the traffic and hook up with a gaggle of geese this summer.
The Canada goose is a protected species.
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