02-08-2025
Move over, Lacoste: Goose the reptile on the run now emblazoned on T-shirt in Webster
WEBSTER — Water monitor hysteria, on a good note, has gripped this community.
T-shirts are hot off the presses to show off what is Webster's most-famous attraction at the moment. That's Goose, the 5-foot-long water monitor with sharp teeth that escaped from its owner two weeks ago and remained on the lam as of Thursday, July 31.
Drop by Pete's Tire & Oil on Main Street and Debi Bohenko will be happy to sell you one of the T-shirts from one of the boxes stuffed with them for $20 each.
Bohenko, a lifelong Webster resident, changes tires at the shop, and she showed off the shirts along with owner Peter Bannister, another Webster lifer.
More: Goose, the 5-foot lizard that escaped from Webster home, spotted in Douglas
Since the news broke of Goose slithering out of its owner's home in Webster on Thursday, July 17, good-natured memes and humerous comments have flooded social media about the elongated lizard.
Bohenko knew she had to get in on the light-hearted action, so she designed a Goose T-shirt with Dave Labbs, another Webster native who owns the Airbrush Shack in Thompson, Connecticut.
'I didn't think many people would buy it,' said Bohenko, who had some grease and dirt marks on her arms and legs, which comes with the territory from a day's work of changing tires at Pete's.
Her assumption proved wrong, because the shirts are selling fast. Bohenko has rung up 75 sales so far, and she's on her second shipment to meet rising customer demand.
'I'll sell them as long as people keep asking for them,' she said, with sales transacted at Pete's and on her personal Facebook page.
One of the shirts is displayed in Pete's waiting room while customers wait for their cars. It was taped to the wall with a small sign that advertised the $20 price tag along with a handwritten marketing enticement: Grab Some Webster Memorabilia!!
Customer Zachary Campbell sat near the sign and thinks the whole Goose phenomenon is 'kind of funny, and scary at the same time because there's a giant lizard running around."
Customer Nahla Kenal hadn't heard about Goose until she was asked about the reptile. "It's the first time I'm hearing about it,' she said, adding with a smile, 'If I saw it, I would run away as far as I can.'
There have been two reported sightings of Goose since it escaped. One in Douglas on Wednesday, July 30, but when authorities arrived, the lizard was gone, according to the Massachusetts Environmental Police.
The second was on Friday, July 25, in the area of Little Pond in Thompson, Connecticut, but again Goose, who is black with white scars on its back, was gone when authorities arrived. That pond is several miles southwest of Blueberry Lane in Webster, where the reptile slithered out of a second-story window, according to reports.
Its owner didn't have a license to have it as a pet, according to reports, and several hours passed before it was reported missing, a development that authorities have said made finding Goose more difficult.
Webster animal control officer Desiree Roussin wasn't immediately available to comment on the latest regarding Goose's possible whereabouts. She has told the Telegram and Gazette that it will be 'extremely difficult' to catch Goose if it's spotted, because it will likely scoot away if anyone gets close to it.
Roussin worries the lizard could die when the weather turns cold, because water monitors generally don't survive in those conditions. Authorities stress if anyone sees Goose, call police immediately and don't try to catch it because it could lash out.
As for the T-shirt, there's an original image of a lizard on the front with a tagline in a large, bold font that reads The 'Goose' is on the LOOSE.
The back displays more fun, including, "You Fish On Your Side, I'll Fish On My Side, Goose Will Fish Wherever He Wants!" Bohenko explained that phrase is a play on the English translation of the extremely lengthy Native American name for Webster Lake, a 45-letter moniker — Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg — that some believe is the longest name of a place in the world.
"Don't get Goosed" is another printed phrase on the shirt. 'I hope that one sticks,' said Bannister. 'It's all for fun. It's the most fun Webster has had in 100 years.'
It was time for Bohenko and Bannister to get back to work fixing cars, but Bannister couldn't refrain from speculating about where Goose could be. 'He's looking for a water mate in Webster Lake. We'll have a whole bunch of Gooses next year.'
Bohenko didn't let that joke end the interview. She quipped, 'My daughter water-skis, and we don't need something taking a bite out of one of her skis.'
Contact Henry Schwan at Follow him on X: @henrytelegram
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Goose the reptile on the run now emblazoned on T-shirt in Webster
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