Goodbye Gertie
By Glenda McDaniel, Resident Wirtz, 24184

     My fellow neighbors at Boxwood Green and Three Quarter Point are in mourning this week.  Not only for our fellow Americans during their tragedy, but for the loss of a beloved Gray Pond Goose.  
     "Gertie" as I call her and also known as "Honker" to some was  shot this week by an adjacent property owner.   My neighbors at Three Quarter Point watched as a boat came speeding up the cove.  They thought it was just one of our local bass fishermen coming in the cove for bait.  Little did we know what was about to occur.   The boat came to a stop near "Gertie" and pulled out a shot gun and killed her.   My friends across the cove screamed out in Anguish when they saw the drooped over gray and white body floating in the cove.  
     When they inquired as to “WHY” the man shot Gertie, he expressed it was hunting season.
 Should Hunting be allowed on the water of Smith Mountain Lake? I am not against Hunting nor gun ownership, but I am concerned that hunting is allowed so close to residential homes. I am sure if someone was out in the street in front of an off-water neighborhood firing a gun, the area would be in an up roar.
     The Lake is that road in front of my home, a place where my children play and dogs run. Firing a gun from an unstable platform like a boat is dangerous. What if another boat wake cause the hunter to loose balance and fire upward into someone’s home?
     The game warden told my neighbors that there was no law against the man shooting Gertie the goose because it was a domestic goose. Gertie was a pet to most of us. Maybe its time to amend the hunting laws of SML now that there are more residential dwellings.
     As a final note, it is close to hunting season and I hope that hunters will take care in their aim and make sure that the are only aiming at allowable game and no someone’s precious pet or child who might be wondering through the woods. Comments may be sent to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .