Fact check: Origin of this story about a goose sheltering a puppy from the cold is unknown

Devon Link, USA TODAY
·4 min read

The claim: Photo shows goose sheltering puppy from the Montana cold

As Americans recover from frigid winter storms, some are sharing a heartfelt story about animals sheltering from the cold together.

“This goose was found shaking cold stuck to a pole in Montana,“ reads a version of the post shared on Facebook Feb. 17. “As they got closer they realized, wrapped up in her wings was a tiny puppy she was shielding from the freezing temperatures. We have so much to learn from animals. Beautiful. (Both the goose and the puppy have recovered, they were adopted together and are doing well.)”

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The post includes two images of a large bird and a puppy between the bird’s wings. It does not say when the images were taken.

That post has had more than 113,000 shares, 4,200 comments and 25,000 reactions.

USA TODAY contacted several social media accounts that posted the claim for comment.

Story has circulated on social media since 2017

Snopes investigated this story after it went viral in February 2019, when a polar vortex brought extreme winter weather in North America. Snopes expressed skepticism that the images were taken in Montana since the images have circulated on Chinese social media outlets since 2017.

The earliest record of the image and story was uploaded to the Chinese platform NetEase on March 23, 2017. In Chinese, the page tells a more detailed story about the bird and puppy. The article does not disclose when or where the images were taken. It does not mention Montana or that the bird was stuck to a pole.

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The page does not offer a source and discloses that the content is user-generated.

Story picks up details over time

As the story has spread across platforms, it has picked up new details.

“We are happy to report that shortly after these photos were uploaded to Facebook, the puppy and the goose were adopted together and now have formed a lasting friendship in a home environment. Now they are inseparable,” adds one version posted to the website Madly Odd.

The story appeared with attribution to Montana in early January 2019.

Ecuadorian television station Ecuvisa reported the story on its website on Jan. 2, 2019.

“This story happened in 2017, but the image just went viral on Facebook a few weeks ago,” the article translates to English. “A person who was walking through the streets of Montana in the USA saw that a small duck was shivering from the cold attached to a pole, but when he got closer, he realized that this animal was hugging something with great force.”

USA TODAY could find no reporting of this purported 2017 Montana incident. There have been several reported friendships between dogs and birds, however, this viral story could not be verified.

Our rating: Missing context

We rate the story that a Montana bird sheltered a puppy from the cold MISSING CONTEXT. While the photos appear to be real, the circumstances cannot be verified. The story has circulated on social media since early 2017 with varied details.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Story of puppy and bird in the cold has unknown origins