HILLSBORO, N.D. – Adam Gettel rescued a Canada goose from a gas station and brought him back to his Hillsboro, North Dakota, farm. Since then, the goose hasn't been far behind Gettel, WDAY TV reports.
The orphaned goose, Wilbur, has become the talk of the town of the small town of 1,600 people 42 miles north of Fargo.
"Wilbur is usually the one that follows me wherever I go," Gettel told WDAY.
Wilbur is so attached that he flies alongside Gettel's pickup truck on his way to work.
"He is an amazing bird and he likes to maintain eye contact while I'm driving down the road," Gettel said. "You don't usually get that close to a flock of flying geese, especially to be able to see them at point-blank range and potentially be able to reach out and pet them while they're flying next to you."
Gettel said Wilbur is smart enough to fly over oncoming vehicles.
"The reaction from the oncoming vehicles is still usually pretty priceless, they'll slow down, they'll stop, they'll get out of their vehicle and they'll turn around and they'll be watching," said Gettel.
There is a chance Wilbur will spend the winter in North Dakota, A nearby Crystal Sugar factory has open water that is attractive to Canada geese, WDAY reports.
