Comerica Park in Detroit got an unexpected visitor Wednesday night when a Canada goose had a perilous fall inside the stadium.
A day later, a hero emerged from the stands in Tigers season-ticket holder Catherine Roach, who happens to be a part-time veterinarian at Advanced Animal Emergency Clinton Township.
Roach was among the fans waiting out a second rain delay in the sixth inning of the Tigers-Angels game when the goose wandered onto the field, then made a failed attempt to fly out, smacking instead into a scoreboard and tumbling into the stands below.
“It happened right above our seats. I didn’t see him hit, but I heard it, and I saw him bounce back,” said Roach. “It was right above and to the left of us. I thought, ‘They are not going to know what to do with this.’ So I headed down and picked up the goose.”
Roach said fans and staff were concerned about the young adult male goose that was stunned from the fall.
“They needed to get him off of the field for his safety and the players’ safety. I don’t know why he couldn’t fly well-enough to fly out,” she said. “I just easily picked him up, tucked him under my arm and carried him out.”
Roach said with the help of staff and security, she set the goose outside the main doors near some bushes to “minimize the stress.” She returned about a half-hour later to see if he’d settled down or taken off on his own, but he hadn’t moved.
She then transported him to her office for an examination and X-rays. The goose, which she said did not appear to be badly hurt, spent the night in a dog kennel in her basement before she drove him to Michigan State University’s Veterinary Medical Center.
“He’s doing really well now,” she said.
Before Thursday’s game, Tigers players got the idea of putting a fake goose in their dugout.
“Baseball players, it’s what they do. They don’t miss a beat,” joked Tigers Manager Ron Gardenhire.
Moose on the loose
Golfing can be hard enough without adding a giant mammal to the mix.
Mark Redican and his wife were cruising along in their golf cart Monday when they got a warning from a worker at the course.
“She said, ‘Hey just to give you a heads up there’s a moose here so just keep your eye out,’” Redican said.
It wasn’t long before the moose in question was heading their way.
“I’m getting ready to hit my shot and all of the sudden [my wife’s] like, ‘Oh my god Red, here comes the moose,’” Redican said.
A young moose, taller than their golf cart, was coming right at the couple.
“This moose is just lumbering at us, it’s coming in hot, so we jump in the golf cart and drive away,” he said. “It was kind of scary when he’s coming that fast at you.”
The moose gave chase for a while, but finally gave up.
“Luckily it kind of lost interest towards the end,” Redican said. Or so it seemed.
The moose trotted off into the trees, but minutes later was back.
“After we teed off at the next hole, he made his way down to the golf course and came at us again,” he said.
In the end, it didn’t ruin the day. Redican got to finish his game.
“Well I had a pretty good round going so I had to finish the hole,” he said. “I was right in the middle of the fairway, I actually ended up parring the hole.”
Quote of the day
“Baseball is a hard game at times and you’re not always going to be raking every time, every weekend.You’ve just got to learn from the times that are rough and keep doing what you’re doing when the times are good.”
Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad after Friday’s 10-2 victory over Oral Roberts