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Webster police call off hunt as venemous water monitor remains at large
Police advised community members not to search for the lizard and to call animal control if "Goose" is spotted.
Police called off the hunt for a venemous 5-foot-long water monitor, named “Goose,” that escaped from its home on Blueberry Lane in Webster on Friday.
Goose broke through the screen of a second-story window before leaping off the roof, neighbors told NBC10.
“I think Goose, if he’s not found, is going to become some urban legend here for time to come,” Police Chief Michael Shaw told Boston25 News.
Animals on the loose:
Chief Shaw advised community members not to search for the lizard and to call animal control if Goose is spotted. The water monitor can be dangerous if cornered and although it is venemous, it is not lethal.
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Despite this, a man from Weymouth, who was vacationing in Brazil when he heard about the loose lizard, called the Webster Police Department to offer to find it, according to Boston25 News.
The Weymouth man, John Paul-LaPierre, hunts reptiles. “I’ve gotten to know how they kind of think,” he told Boston25, and though he’s never found a water monitor before, he said, “I’ll find that in an hour.”
In Webster, the loose water monitor has become a running joke with residents who have edited photos of the nearby Webster Lake to include Goose.
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One Webster resident, Pete Tarbox, has even taken to wearing, and kayaking in, a lizard onesie.
“I bought the manly lizard suit because of the buzz around town,” Tarbox told Boston.com. “I thought I’d add to the vibe.”
“I hope they find him safe and sound,” said Tarbox, who has been checking his property for signs of the lizard.
On Tuesday, Webster Police reported an unplanned power outage in eastern Webster, which residents blamed on Goose, or “Godzilla,” in the comments of the department’s Facebook post.
To own a water monitor in Massachusetts, owners must obtain a permit and it is unknown if Goose’s owners have proper permitting, according to Boston25.
The investigation into the water monitor remains ongoing by the environmental police, according to NBC10.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the lizard’s status as a venomous reptile.
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