Friday, June 11 began as a typical day for Animal Control Officer Carlston Wood. He arrived at work just before 8 a.m., listened to several voicemail messages, and began making his way around town in his Animal Control van.

"[We're] very busy this time of the year," Wood said. "We get calls upon calls, upon calls, and try to handle everything as quickly and efficiently as possible."

But shortly after noontime, the day became anything but typical.

While picking up a dog on Main Avenue in Onset, Wood was flagged down by a passerby and told that a Canada goose had been spotted walking around with an arrow through its body.

Wood rushed to Broad Cove, near Grandview Avenue, where he and bystanders found the goose.

"[The arrow] was going under the wing, through the front of the chest, and out the other side," Wood said. "But the goose was alive and moving."

Wood needed to determine the extent of the goose's injuries.

"I tried to get the goose with the net on the shore. We tried to lure the goose in with some bread, and all the geese came in," Wood said.

But the goose was frightened, and took off toward the water and started swimming.

"At that point, I realized that the goose definitely needed attention, and I wanted to try to get it some help, get the arrow out of it if I could," Wood said. "But I realized I wasn't going to be able to do it myself."

Wood called Acting Harbormaster Garry Buckminster.

"I asked [Buckminster] if he had a boat in the water, if they could offer any assistance to perhaps persuade the goose to come back into shore," Wood said.

Buckminster sent two employees and a boat, and Wood and the concerned citizens moved to Riverside Drive, on the opposite side of Broad Cove, to keep an eye on their injured, feathered friend.

When the Harbormaster's boat arrived, Wood hopped on, and the team set off to find the goose.

"Once we got close enough [to the animal], we could see that the arrow was still protruding through the goose, so he was pretty easy to spot," Wood said.

Wood positioned himself on the bow of the boat and tried to catch the animal in his net. He was unsuccessful, and ended up in ten-foot-deep water himself.

Wood said he initially thought he was stuck underwater, in the mud. "I thought, 'Oh boy, I just cooked my own goose.'" (No pun intended.)

But Wood got out, and when he emerged, he swam in pursuit of the goose.

"I swam as far as I could, almost to the shore, until I just completely tanked out of gas," Wood said.

Finally, the team caught up to the goose, but not before Nick Brogioli from the Harbormaster's Office ended up in the water. Brogioli grabbed the goose and returned in to the shore, where Wood gently removed the arrow from its body.

"The goose is still with us," Wood said, adding: "He doesn't seem to be worse for the wear."

The goose was transported to Marion Animal Hospital for examination and then returned to Wood. Before the goose is released to the wild, it will be examined by Cape Wildlife Center, which will also investigate the incident, Wood said.

"I know that the geese are pests to a lot of people, but you know, the people that helped me out with the goose today cared about it having an arrow through it, and obviously so did I, so we did what we had to do," Wood said. "I just couldn't see this animal suffering with an arrow through it."

Watch Animal Control Officer Carlston Wood tell the story of the goose rescue: