The story of Andy - a gray goose in children's sneakers
Our smaller brothers are often in trouble. It is much more difficult for them to get help than for people. For this to happen, you need to meet "your person" who will make an effort to solve the problem. Gray goose Andy, who was born without legs, was lucky - his man was found. Jim Fleming, an inventor enthusiast from Nebraska, USA, adopted the unfortunate bird and taught it to walk.
Jim Fleming was considered an eccentric by everyone. He constantly invented something and invested all the money he earned in his strange developments. Once he designed a flying saucer that could not take off. And another time he said that he invented a bait for fish that never fails.
Sometimes Fleming managed to sell his developments, but the money was still sorely lacking. The eccentric constantly heard advice to quit doing nonsense and get a serious job. Someone generally considered a man a madman living in his own fictional world. So when Jim showed up on the street with a goose in sneakers on a leash, no one was surprised.
Fleming met his unusual pet in 1987. He accidentally learned that a disabled gosling was born on a poultry farm in the city of Harvard with paw pathology. The man immediately went to the farm and traded the unfortunate bird for three healthy goslings.
Having brought the bird, which was named Andy home, Jim immediately began to invent a device for her to help move around. The first development was a trolley made from an old skateboard. But Andy is just a bird, and the inventor couldn't teach the goose how to use a makeshift wheelchair.
Then Fleming decided to design artificial limbs. His eyes fell on the old children's sneakers lying near the dumpster. With a little tinkering with sports shoes, the designer managed to fix them on Andy's stumps. Teaching a goose born without legs to walk was not at all easy. Jim spent several days on this, working out with the pet for 3 hours every morning.
As a result, Andy not only learned to walk in sneakers, but also clearly enjoyed it. Soon the goose got used to it so much that he began to walk along the street with the owner, like a dog. The unusual couple found out in the local press, and this was the beginning of worldwide fame. Fleming and his feathered friend were invited to TV shows, stories were filmed about them, they were interviewed by journalists from different countries.
Soon the fame of Jim and Andy became so loud that they had their own fan club! In an interview, Fleming said that Andy prefers Nike sports shoes. The company immediately reacted to this by allocating unlimited goose for its shoes. Also, the manufacturer became a sponsor of all events in which Jim and Andy participated.
Many were surprised that the eccentric inventor was not at all eager to make money from his pet. Fleming helped the goose wholeheartedly. In addition, the man understood the important mission of the events with the goose. They made it clear to people that disability is not a sentence.
Unfortunately, on October 19, 1991, something irreparable happened. Some scoundrels stole the famous goose in sneakers right from Fleming's house. Soon the bird was found dead nearby, near the pond. The sadists killed the bird by tearing off its head and wings. This crime became resonant, and the police began to investigate it.
Andy's fans set up a fund that offered to pay $10,000 for information about the killers. Unfortunately, neither law enforcement officers nor volunteers could find those responsible for the tragedy. Jim Fleming was very upset by the death of a friend, and due to stress, he developed Alzheimer's disease. The man isolated himself from the whole world and almost stopped leaving the house.
Fleming passed away in 1999. After his death, it turned out that the man's accounts contained impressive amounts of money received as fees for participating in various shows and promotions. Surprisingly, Jim never used them, even when he was seriously ill and needed funds for treatment.
If you do not believe that a goose can be a true friend, no worse than a dog, get acquainted with the story of the Minsk blogger Andrey Gurin and his goose Harvister.