Viral goose Honk's memory lives on 3 years after his death

HOUSTON - Back in 2020, a woman on Facebook captured the hearts of millions after posting a simple video of her with a goose in a Dallas-area park.

More than four years later, she recalls those months with a smile on her face and how his story brought so many people together during such an unsure time.

Who was Honk the Goose?

The backstory:

Cheryl Griffin-Allison introduced the world to Honk the Goose on her Facebook after he essentially stalked her through a park. She was out on a walk when the goose approached her like they were old friends.

The goose followed Griffin-Allison around the whole day and even tried to go home with her. After finding a way to hide so she could escape, Cheryl returned the next day.

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She saw him across the other side of the pond and, in an attempt to get his attention, yelled out "Honk!" From that moment, the rest was history.

"We became best friends, and he was my buddy, and my friend and my therapist and everything else during COVID," she said.

Cheryl began posting videos of Honk on her social media when she started to visit him even more. 

Curious as to where Honk may have come from, she asked around and neighbors in the area told her he had been there for years and believed he might have been dumped. It was at this time that Griffin-Allison learned about duck dumping.

What is duck dumping?

Duck dumping is the practice of people leaving domestic ducks at a local pond in the wild thinking they’re having a better life.

Why you should care:

The problem, as Cheryl explained, is these domestic animals do not know how to survive or find food on their own. In some cases, they also can’t fly to leave that place, leaving them vulnerable to dogs, coyotes, or other predators.

"I don't think it's, you know, because of bad intentions. I think [people] think they're going to have a better life. But these are domestic animals, just like dumping a dog or cat, and they don't know how to survive or how to find food," Griffin-Allison explained.

Rescuing Honk

The backstory:

Another issue was that geese have mates for life. Cheryl was told by neighbors in the area that Honk had a mate, a white goose, and they were inseparable.

With the chance of Honk having a mate, Griffin-Allison decided to search for the goose before deciding if she wanted to move Honk.

Unfortunately, she found that Honk's mate had passed away.

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This new, sad discovery caused Griffin-Allison to begin the process of getting Honk into a sanctuary so he could be safe. 

Finding a sanctuary:

It took time and research, but eventually, she found one in the Dallas-area called the Rogers Wildlife Bird Sanctuary, founded by Kathy Rogers, who has been rescuing and rehabilitating hurt birds, wild and domestic, such as eagles, geese, ducks, and more. 

"Honk will have friends because at the end of the day, yes, he was attached to me. He was obviously raised by humans, but he needed to be around his own kind," Cheryl said when talking about Honk being put into a sanctuary.

So, she helped get Honk into her vehicle and brought him to what would be his home for the rest of his life.

While in the sanctuary, Honk lived out the rest of his life. He even got a girlfriend named Brenda, and they never left each other’s side. At least, until Cheryl visited.

"Brenda kind of didn't like me, I think, you know, she saw me as her mother in law, and so she didn't like that. She was like, ‘oh, she's here’ but Honk would be all over me," Cheryl recalled with a laugh. "So him and Brenda kind of lived the good life there. So it ended up being like, you know, really a fairytale ending."

It was a bittersweet ending for Honk’s story. After wandering a park alone, he found a new home where he got to be surrounded by his own kind, even for a short time. 

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Honoring Honk the Goose

Three years ago, on Feb. 1, 2022, Honk unfortunately passed away in his sleep. 

Cheryl got the chance to visit him the last day of his life. "And he came running to me, and we sang together and we, you know, did our whole banter, and I left, and he laid in the sun and put his little head in his, in his, feathers. They found him there," she reminisced.

Documentary and books:

Even after his death, Cheryl has done what she could to keep Honk’s memory alive. 

Cheryl directed a 46-minute documentary, which aired on PBS and is available on Amazon, detailing their journey together.

She was also given a grant from the Dallas Cultural Society to make a children’s book and a children’s activity book.

The books are aimed at being a fun educational tool for kids about ducks. The activity book features multiple choice questions, word searches, crosswords, and more.

"What I have done is gone into schools and read the book to the children or [gone] into libraries. And, it's been a real blessing to do that and see the children respond to the story and to Honk," she said. "And so, you know, he lives on and that's really what he did for me as well as others."

Social media impact:

Even as years have passed, Cheryl says her main takeaway from Honk’s story with millions was one of love.

In the time Honk spent with Cheryl, the Instagram she made for him gained more than 80,000 followers.

She mentions the story of a woman from Australia who made a video telling what Honk meant to her. Comments would flood in from all over the world, stretching from Ireland to New Zealand, to Ukraine.

Before the premiere of her film in Dallas, Cheryl says she received a message on Instagram from a user in Ukraine who thanked her for posting videos with Honk because they kept her children calm during air raids.

"I personally believe Honk was sent into my life for a reason. I think it was greater than, you know, me or him. I think it was fate."

Though Cheryl didn’t get a lot of time with Honk, the time she did get taught her so much.

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It taught her patience, to have hope, and at times, to stop and listen to what animals have to say, as they’re a lot smarter than we give them credit for. 

Honk’s story was one that, for two years, brought people together during a hard time.

"But on a grander scheme, like universally, it was beautiful to see people come together from all different countries, all different backgrounds and have that one focus about love."

You can watch Cheryl's full documentary about Honk on Amazon by clicking here.

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