~June 1998 - July 13, 2005
NAME ORIGIN
In Gabriel's History section, you'll see that he started out with a different name.  When it had to be changed abruptly, I sort of picked Gabriel out of a hat, mainly because his previous name had started with the letter "G."  Had I known more about his personality at the time, I would have stuck with the Shakespearean names and called him Iago...
DATE OF BIRTH
Around June 1998.
BREED / PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Embden.  Embdens, like China Browns and China Whites, are a common domestic breed.  They are quite a bit larger and heavier than the Chinas and as far as I know, are always white with blue eyes.
Gabriel was not nearly as loud as Lysander, and he tended to honk rather than shriek.  When he was excited or happy about something, he made little high-pitched squeaking noises.
HISTORY
Gabriel's history was just plain silly.   It's a bit long, but here goes:
Acquisition
When Desdemona died in late October of 1998, Lysander was beside himself.  He obviously needed another companion, so we set out to find him one - preferably another China female.  That was easier said than done, as it turned out.  Finally, a wildlife rehabber I knew put me in touch with a man in Tucson who had lots of birds and might have a "spare" goose.
I called the Bird Man, and he said a friend of his had a female goose who needed a home.  She was an Embden, but it didn't really matter.  We'd admired the two beautiful Embdens our neighbor had had before he had to find them another home.  I arranged to meet the Bird Man, his friend, and the goose at the Bird Man's place. 
On the appointed day, I met them and the goose.  She was gorgeous: pure white, with bright blue eyes.  They told me her name was Guinevere, which was just perfect.  (Guinevere and Jennifer are the same name in different languages.)
The Bird Man's friend looked vaguely familiar to me, but I am known for not recognizing people so I figured I was imagining things.  The three of us got to talking and they asked me where I lived.  When I gave the name of the town, the Friend said his brother lived there, and gave his brother's cross streets - which were also our cross streets.  As it turned out, the Friend was the identical twin brother of our nearest neighbor, which was why he looked familiar!  
We were laughing at that odd coincidence when the Friend continued, "You know those two Embdens my brother had?  Well, Guinevere is their offspring."  The two Embdens we'd admired had produced goslings, then gone to live somewhere else and the Friend had wound up with one of the babies. 
So, after searching the whole city for a companion for Lysander, we wound up getting a goose who'd been born right across the street from us!
What Happened in the Spring
We were delighted when Lysander and Guinevere hit it off right away.  We wondered if they would mate in the spring, as Guinevere would be old enough by then.  
When spring arrived, it became very obvious that Guinevere was a He, not a She, so his name was quickly changed to Gabriel.  He was displaying courting and mating behavior typical of a male goose, but when it came to selecting a mate, he had a bit of a problem.  He selected me!  He acted all coy and seductive whenever I entered the enclosure and at first I thought he just wanted me to pet him.  His real intentions dawned on me the second time he grabbed my arm in his beak and tried to climb on me.
He was particularly obnoxious whenever I came near one of the water containers.  I later read that Embdens, being large, heavy geese, almost always mate on the water.  He must have figured since I was hanging around the water, I was going to put out.
All this gave my husband a good laugh and I had fun explaining to friends and co-workers why I was covered in nasty bruises all the time.  It was a great relief - though a bit insulting - when mating season ended and he dumped me flat.  The same scenario repeated itself the following spring.   Gabriel never showed any interest in male humans.  He did eye one of my female friends once, but he mainly devoted his attention to me. 
Geese mate for life.  Most people aren't bothered by that thought, but to me, it was more than a little bit alarming!
PERSONALITY
Gabriel was a bit quirky even when it wasn't breeding season.  He hissed at the dogs and my mother, once chased my younger sister around the enclosure, and was not nice to Ophelia at all.  On the other hand, he was surprisingly decent to Lysander, especially considering they were both male, and he enjoyed having his chest feathers petted.
In order to avoid being black and blue during breeding season, I had to lock him up while I was in the enclosure.  One particularly nasty wing strike to my right forearm in the spring of 2005 left me with some nerve damage that is still a problem today.  He was quite decent outside of mating season, though.
MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Severe heart disease.  See details.
HOBBIES
Putting bits of wood into the water containers.  I have no clue as to why he did this, but he did it consistently whenever he found a chunk of wood or a piece of a branch.  As soon as we fished them out, he'd find them and put them back in.

He loved being squirted with the hose, as do all geese, apparently.