Heroic Goldfish Heads Home

On October 28, 2009, in Life in New England, by Wilfried F. Voss

bigstockphoto_Free_Willy_1354212 Reunited with family after surviving trip through sewer

I am not kidding, but “Heroic Goldfish Heads Home” was headline news in Greenfield, Massachusetts on September 9, 2009. “The Recorder”, Greenfield’s local newspaper, had previously reported about the incident in which a goldfish was “accidentally flushed” and then recovered by workers of the water treatment facility. Now, as the headline indicates, “Poopsie” is home again.

Let me quote from the article as it appeared on the front page of “The Recorder”:

“The little goldfish that could is back home and safely swimming with his tank mate. “Poopsie,” the 3-inch goldfish who took a swim through Buckland’s sewer system earlier this week, was reunited with his family on Wednesday.

Wastewater treatment plant operator Alan Nichols and Chief Operator Daniel Fleuriel have seen many dead goldfish coming through the plant, because so many pet fish are given “flushing funerals” after they die. But a live goldfish coming through the sewage, twitching against a screen that filters larger objects, was a shock to both, said Board of Selectmen Chairman Stefan Racz.

Sherry Clark, town administrator and administrative assistant to the Board of Selectmen, named the rescued fish “Poopsie.”

“That was for obvious reasons,” she said with a giggle.

…

“Everyone is very, very happy that Poopsie was reunited with his family,” said Clark. “And the family was delighted.”

Poopsie’s familiy has decided to remain anonymous, but told treatment plant employees that it was an “accidental flushing” that occurred while they were cleaning the fish tank.”

As I wrote before, life in Greenfield, Massachusetts is not far from that in Leonard Wibberly’s Duchy of Grand Fenwick. Wibberly would be delighted if he could read the article.