Swan goose beaten to death in city park
Meriden, CT (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jan 1, 2010
County: New Haven
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
While unloading a stroller from the back of her minivan not far from a gaggle of geese, Kelly Leary looked around Mirror Lake and said that she wasn't surprised by the outpouring of support for Hubbard Park's slain swan goose.
As she was doing Friday afternoon, Leary brings her three boys to the park a few times a week to feed the birds, she said, and it's a ritual they love.
The swan goose, the only one of its kind at the park - the species is native to Mongolia and northern China - was larger than any of the other geese and stood out from the other animals with a fleshy knob of orange and black protruding over its beak.
The goose was apparently struck on the head with a blunt object last week, according to police. The community has responded to its death, with four business owners collectively offering $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
There are a lot of problems that don't elicit the same response from the community, Leary said, but animals have a special place in peoples' hearts.
"It was a defenseless animal," she said. "People just love animals a lot. They're helpless."
Outside Platt High School on Friday, senior Melanie Cabrera said a number of students are talking about the swan goose and how strange it was that someone had apparently wanted to hurt a defenseless goose.
"I was shocked," she said. "Why did they kill a swan?"
Sgt. Rob Nesci, school resource officer supervisor, taped a flier about the reward to the counter in the office of Lincoln Middle School, and said he plans to put fliers in other schools soon. He's also been talking to school principals, trying to find some leads on who might have killed the goose.
The city's young people might know something about the killing, he said, and a reward just might catch their interest.
Nesci said he was bothered by the animal's death: "I've taken a personal interest." He said he feels that many other Meriden officers feel the same way.
"It's a touching story of animal cruelty that hits home," he said. "Why would someone injure an animal like that? It leaves a lot of unanswered questions."
The fourth business owner to donate $500 to the reward for the bird, Charlie Spinaci, of Wallingford, is a bird lover who has visited Hubbard Park numerous times over the years and has seen the goose.
"I've owned parrots for 30 years," he said. "We're kind of fond of birds. ... It really got my goat, what happened over there. ... That bird didn't hurt anybody. He was the only bird of his kind (at the park) and someone intentionally killed it."
Spinaci, who owns A to Z Rental in North Haven, said he hopes the extra reward will bring someone forward with information.
Society does have many problems, said Meriden Humane Society Director Marlena Di Bianco, but animals offer an island of tranquillity in peoples' lives to which they can retreat when things get hectic. When push comes to shove, people will rally to support them, as they do when the Humane Society is in need, she said.
"People go to Hubbard Park, they look at the swan, you feel relaxed for a bit," she said. "Everybody has been down at Hubbard Park at some point. That takes away a part of every one of us, to have anyone (kill) an animal." If you have information on this case, please contact:
Charlie Spinaci
meridensocietyATsbcglobal.net
Meriden Humane Socie
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