Depressed Canadian Goose

We have a new staff person at work and she's a hoot, or a honk.  She comes to me with bird observations or questions almost every day.  Last week she told me that she had stopped to look at a pair of Canadian geese who were lovingly swimming side by side every day on the same pond.  She stopped her car to admire their devotion.  Another person came by to see what she was looking at. She said she was admiring this devoted Canadian goose couple.  This other person pointed out that the geese she was admiring were decoys to keep real geese off the pond.  Hysterical story.   Today she was concerned about a depressed Canadian Goose.  She sees this depressed goose twice a day for the past week at Hanson Boulevard and Northdale Boulevard in Coon Rapids.  I ask her how she knows it's depressed?  She says it hangs it's head down and paces back and forth on the very edge of the road.  She's afraid some reckless or cruel driver will hit it with a car.  She is sure this goose is mourning the loss of it's mate.  She is sure almost all birds mate for life.  I tell her I'm not so sure about that.  Mallards for example definitely do not mate for life and some times engage in gang rapes.  Loons don't mate for life and a male loon will commit murder to mate the one he wants.  Red winged blackbird males boldly defend their territory from other males while the female lays a clutch of eggs with the DNA of several males.  So, no, most birds don't mate for life.  I tell her I'm not sure if Canadian geese mate for life or not.  She is very disappointed to hear this.  She was so sure this goose is depressed over the loss of it's mate.  I ask if she isn't assigning human emotions to Canadian geese.  She sure hopes not.  So I looked it up.  Canadian geese are monogamous.  I'll give her good word tomorrow.  I'm sure she'll be very happy.  Like I said, this new person at work is just a hoot honk.