Through sickness and in health, two Barnstable geese are showing the meaning of love and loyalty after Cape Wildlife Center came to the aid of one goose that needed surgery. The immediate procedure turned into the center’s first animal visitor and proved that love isn’t just for humans.

Cape Wildlife Center is a sanctuary in Barnstable, MA serving as the Cape Cod branch of New England Wildlife Centers, offering free wildlife veterinary care and care-based education to the community. In a pond located near the facility lives a pair of Canada geese that have resided there for several years. The staff refers to one of the geese as Arnold, and on Wednesday, they noticed Arnold was in distress.

“Our staff noticed that Arnold had developed a significant limp and was continuously falling over,” wrote Cape Wildlife Center on Facebook. “With some effort, we were able to catch Arnold and bring him in for a veterinary exam.”

The team discovered that Arnold had two open fractures on his foot, where the tissue and skin had been pulled away, exposing the bone. Before they could rush him into surgery, the team heard a tapping at the door. It was the love of his life, checking in.

“We turned to see that his mate had waddled up onto the porch and was attempting to break into our clinic,” wrote the center. “She had somehow located him and was agitated that she could not get inside.” She remained by the door throughout Arnold’s procedure, watching over her mate with careful eyes.

Arnold had a successful surgery, and the center felt it was best to have him recover by the doorway so his mate could stay by his side.

“We opened the door and gave Arnold his flow-by oxygen in the doorway,” the center wrote.

Arnold’s mate was pleased by the kind gesture and began grooming Arnold through the door.

Arnold will recover at the Wildlife Center for the next few weeks, with the staff changing bandages by the doorway and Arnold’s mate providing TLC until he can return to her side in the pond.

Move over, fairytale love stories. I want what these two geese have.

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