Walking geese sheds pounds

They started out as a 431-pound man and 13 baby geese walking down the sidewalk in Missouri Valley, Iowa.

Now, six years later, Paul Messerschmidt is down to 241 pounds, and his 11 geese are trained with voice commands and hand signals to follow him through the crowds at fairs and festivals throughout the region.

In 2003, Messerschmidt's doctor told him he needed to start walking for his health.

His kids, who were 15 and 18 at the time, were supposed to help him get his exercise, but they weren't.

“I had these babies,” Messerschmidt said of the geese. “I took them down the street to embarrass my kids.”

“It worked,” he said with a laugh. “Amanda (his daughter) came home one day and said, ‘People are talking about a fat man walking baby geese down the sidewalk.'”

That first year, Messerschmidt entered the geese in a parade, just to see if he could win some prize money. He actually planned on having goose meat at the end of that year. But people became fond of them, and him.

More and more people started asking him to bring his geese places. He has taken them to nursing homes, day care centers and schools. Most of his appearances are generated by word of mouth.

It is the same group of geese that he started with. They are 6 years old now. Two of the geese have been lost to illness and accidents.

“They imprinted together,” he said. He couldn't add a goose at this point because the others would attack it. “Although they have some sibling rivalry, they protect each other.”

Messerschmidt said the protectiveness gets stronger when they are not “on duty.” They seem to know that, when they get their outfits on, it means they are “on duty.”

The geese are dressed in themed outfits, which change each day. At the Nebraska State Fair on Monday it was a baseball theme, but they also have cowboy clothing, NASCAR outfits, and evening gowns and tuxedos.

Messerschmidt said he saw the movie “Fly Away Home,” which had a scene in which the birds were dressed up, and decided that he could do that, too.

The geese were only 6 months old when he started putting the little outfits on them, so they are used to it. They mostly stand still and let him, except for Crybaby, who still protests the clothes occasionally.

Messerschmidt guides his geese through a series of nine voice commands, telling them to turn right or left, come or stop. They also know five hand commands, including one finger up as a warning if they are being contrary. Two fingers mean “the woodshed.” And, yes, they have gotten “spanked” in public.

“Actually, they obey better than most children,” he said.

He and his geese have walked 711 miles in six years, traveling to 417 towns.

Messerschmidt often gets questions about “messes” the geese may make, but he said it is not a problem.

“If you don't feed them for six hours before, you don't have to clean up after them,” he said. The geese get fed overnight, then usually don't go out walking until at least 11 a.m.

They do get treats during the day and are particularly fond of soda pop. Mountain Dew is their favorite, followed by Pepsi. They don't like Coke or 7UP.

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