T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Blossom, a female domesticated goose at Riverside Cemetery, checks herself out in the mirror as her quest to find a new partner continues. She has been widowed since the passing of Bud, her longtime companion, last year.

It all started with a personal ad posted on Facebook Friday morning.

“Lonely, widowed domestic goose seeks life partner for companionship and occasional shenanigans. Come share life with me at Riverside Cemetery, where you’ll enjoy swimming in the lovely lake, good food, numerous friends, and peeking in the door of the office building at the strange but kind humans there, who feed us lots of goodies. I’m youthful, adventurous and lively, and I’ve been told I’m beautiful,” it read. “Interested parties should ask a human to contact Riverside Cemetery at 641-753-7891 or riversidecemetery1863@gmail.com.”

Just six hours later, Riverside General Manager Dorie Tammen’s post had garnered over 320 reactions and 50 shares as her ongoing quest to find a partner for Blossom, her beloved goose, went viral, and KCCI News even made a trip all the way from Des Moines to spread the word.

“I’ve had so much fun today,” Tammen said.

Blossom, as she explained, has been widowed since her longtime partner Bud passed away last year — the pair, donated to the cemetery by an area couple, were named after the infant children of Albert Wass, who died shortly after birth and are buried at Riverside. Tammen said Blossom’s newfound loneliness hadn’t seemed to bother her much until recently, but with mating season (and Valentine’s Day) around the corner, the search for a companion has intensified.

“Now she’s hanging out in front of our door, pooping all over the mat and tapping on the glass, and I had to clean the glass and I had to clean the mat,” Tammen said.

Efforts to cover the door and windows with paper only worked for about half of a day, but Blossom returned to her old shenanigans quickly. She is one of four domestic geese at the cemetery — the others are Chinese Swan Geese — along with two swans, mallards and Canadian Geese who come and go. As Tammen explained, Blossom would be best suited to another domestic goose, so a Canadian goose just passing through is not likely to prove a suitable match.

As the post went viral, commenters referenced famous love songs with new lyrics like “I’ve been waiting for a goose like you,” and the wait is now on to see who might be willing to bring a potential mate to Riverside. In the meantime, Blossom will continue to check her look in the mirror just outside of the cemetery’s office and wait for her Prince Charming to arrive by air, land or sea.

Will she find love in time to celebrate the ultimate lover’s holiday? The T-R will have reporters monitoring the story around the clock and providing updates as they become available.

“I think that someone will come through for us at some point here. I just don’t know how soon it’ll happen,” Tammen said.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.