An adored goose which was attacked by a dog is recovering in Sheffield after being rescued by a Rivelin resident.

Fragile – the name given to the goose by Jo Meckin – has also been called Ms. Goose, Gus-Gus, Colonel Gander and Geoff by his fans.

He had lived in Rivelin for many years but was discovered by Jo after being attacked a dog last week.

When trying to feed ‘Fragile’, Jo found that he had been terribly injured with his beak bleeding badly.

She spoke on the phone with vets, who thought that his beak may have been caught by a fishhook.

“There were two fishermen and I asked them what happened and they said a dog got him an hour ago.” said Jo. She rang the RSPCA and managed to get Rivelin Red Watch onto the scene.

With Jo’s aid, they managed to catch ‘Fragile’. “He ran towards me and I got him and it was dead calm,” she said.

‘Fragile’ was taken to Hallam Vets, where they agreed to look at him. It was believed that he would need to be put down due to the extremes of his injury.

However after further examination, it was concluded that this was not the case, which allowed them to prescribe him antibiotics. 

With help, Jo and her friend Anya were able to get ‘Fragile’ to Linjoy Wildlife Sanctuary and Rescue, where he is currently being looked after and expected to have his beak drained this week.

Hopes are high for ‘Fragile’s’ recuperation, however even if his condition improves, he will legally not be allowed to return to the pond, with his fellow ducks.

“They’ll all be wondering where he is, cause I think he protected them all – about the ducks.”

In the long term, Jo wishes to have him relocated to a private pond, “If it gets well enough it can come back here but it has to be private cause he’s not native, if we can get him closer Debra might find him.”

The Emden goose was a resident at Havelock Dam, in River Glen, for many years, and is thought to have previously been kept as a pet, only to be illegally dumped and left behind.

With clipped wings, he was unable to fly away but had been able to rest and find himself a new home in Rivelin surrounded by a community that treasures him dearly.

The local celebrity gained a mass following, one of his frequent visitors being Jo and son Felix.

The pair fell in love with the goose in 2020, taking regular visits to feed him and his friends oats. Leading to Felix naming him ‘Fragile’,“I don’t know why he named him, that must be a word he had just learnt.” said Jo.

“Everyone’s got their own story, everyone’s got their own name for it.”

Rivelin resident Laura Norfolk said: “On hard days at work my boyfriend would cheer me up by saying ‘Shall we go feed the goose?’, and you could always rely on her to come screaming and honking across the pond.”

Jo had set up a fundraiser for ‘Fragile’ which can be found here, the initial target of £750 had been meet but Jo hopes for more currently sitting at £980 raised, with the message to all “Thank you so much, it just makes you realise what an amazing community we live.”