The disappearance of two beloved geese is ruffling feathers in Allen.
The birds were taken from Bethany Lakes Park, where they've lived for more than a decade, and the person who took them was caught on camera doing it.
It's because of the images that the tale has a happy ending.
“Betty and Fred, that's what everyone knows them as,” said Lauren Bradshaw, a frequent park visitor.
Fixtures of the park for more than a decade, Betty and Fred are domestic geese, likely left there by someone who didn't want them.
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“It’s normalcy,” said Bradshaw.
But normalcy nosedived over the weekend when word got around that Betty and Fred were missing.
“I was pissed. I was really mad,” said Bradshaw.
Photos shared on social media show a female carrying the geese out of the park Friday afternoon drew hundreds of comments over the weekend.
The photos were snapped while the female was being confronted by angry moms like Andrea Shanks.
“The wildest day I’ve ever experienced at the park, something I’ll never forget. That's for sure,” Shanks told NBC 5.
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Photos show the geese being loaded into the back of the car and then driven away.
A license plate in one of the pictures led police on a literal wild goose chase over the weekend.
“Who does this?” asked Bradshaw.
The person in the pictures was identified. Betty was returned Monday afternoon but had been separated from Fred.
NBC 5 was there when he triumphantly returned to Allen, when Allen Animal Services weighed him and examined his wings, and when Fred was finally reunited with Betty, his mate for life.
Because the birds are domestic geese and not a migratory species, the City of Allen said no laws were violated, and because the geese weren't injured, no charges will be filed.
Allen Animal Services is planning to release the geese together Tuesday at 10 a.m.
