Goose refuses to leave injured mate's side when he's taken into surgery in moving display of love

Sometimes, animals and birds teach humans a lot about love and attachment. The story of this injured goose and his protective mate is a prime example of how a few fortunate ones are lucky enough to find partners who've got their back in every sense of the phrase. The Facebook page of Cape Wildlife Center shared a heart-touching story about this adorable waterfowl pair when the local goose—named Arnold—had to undergo an important surgery. The Facebook post beautifully narrated the whole ordeal of Arnold, the Canadian goose, and how he became a little bit of a celebrity around the New England Wildlife Centers in Massachusetts a couple of years back.

Arnold lives on a pond with his mate of several years, situated co-incidentally near the wildlife care facility. One day a staff noticed Arnold limping and falling over repeatedly. They ended up bringing him to the clinic for a thorough examination. The wildlife facility staff found that Arnold had two open fractures on his foot. They had no idea how it happened but figured that a snapping turtle or some other predator might have attacked the poor goose.

"In order to save the foot and give him a chance at survival, we knew we had to perform surgery to amputate one of the digits and suture the other wound closed. We gave Arnold antibiotics and pain medications and fasted him for surgery the next morning," the post continued. However, none of the clinic staff predicted what was about to happen next. Just when they were about sedate Arnold for the surgery, they heard a tapping at the clinic door.

"We turned to see that his mate had waddled up onto the porch and was attempting to break into our clinic! She had somehow located him and was agitated that she could not get inside. She remained there throughout the entire procedure, watching us work, never moving from the doorway." the post added. "Thankfully, the surgery went well and we expect the foot to heal with continued treatment and time. Once Arnold woke from anesthesia and the wound was closed and bandaged, we decided to let him recover by the doorway so that he could see his mate."

The staff at the clinic ended up naming Arnold's mate Amelia. As they opened their door to let Amelia in, she started grooming Arnold and the pair happily reunited. "Arnold will likely need several weeks of treatment in our hospital before he is ready to rejoin his mate in the wild. He will need to be kept inside for the majority of this time in order to keep his wound sterile and prevent infection. We will do our best to get him back out quickly and will perform bandage changes and treatments in view of the doorway when possible so that his mate can check up on him," the post from Cape Wildlife Center concluded.

Several Facebook users left wholesome comments for the sweet pair and appreciated the staff for what they did for Arnold. Gayle Wagner commented: "This is one of the reasons I despise hunting. People kill these beautiful creatures and then a mate is left alone. Geese bond for life and have better and stronger partnerships than at least 50 percent of humans. Leave them alone. They deserve to be here too."

Deb Kanter added: "I'm proud to be one of the volunteer workers here. We have the best vet team and staff. So proud of all the work done at CWC." We wish Arnold and Amelia a long and healthy life together.