Goulburn resident Kerrie Hawkins has been feeding the geese who live along the Wollondilly walking track for years.

In early July, as Ms Hawkins fed the flock she noticed something "very wrong" with her favourite goose.

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Ms Hawkins had named a brown female goose Lonesome. Unlike the others who gathered together in a flock, Lonesome was solitary.

"The nine of them would gather together but she would be alone," Ms Hawkins said.

"She was blind in one eye and the other geese would hunt her off.

"Although, she would always come up to me and I would feed her."

On that fateful day, Lonesome was not interested in food. Ms Hawkins saw the goose "swimming but crashing into the river bank".

When the goose finally came out of the water, Ms Hawkins saw fishing line was tangled around her leg. Circulation had been cut off, the leg was severely injured, and feathers had become waterlogged making it difficult for her to get out of the water.

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The kind woman said her "heart just broke" when she saw Lonesome's leg.

"I walked up to her, put my arms around her and lifted her up," she said.

"I could hear her moaning in pain."

Ms Hawkins and friend Edwin Albrighton took the goose to a vet in Goulburn. Unfortunately, the kindest option was to euthanise the animal.

"She died in my arms, I shed some tears because somebody had to cry for her," Ms Hawkins said.

"I was so honoured that she used her last strength to come up to me.

"I'm glad she chose me instead of dying alone."

This isn't the first time Ms Hawkins has seen the impact of littering. A few months ago she successfully rescued a male goose also tangled up in fishing line.

"What saddens me is people discard fishing line down there and the geese get tangled up," she said.

In addition, Ms Hawkins said she regularly saw rubbish dumped near the waterway.

"It's careless laziness, it's no skin off your nose to pick up rubbish," she said.

"Take your fishing line back with you, don't leave it behind."

The Goulburn Mulwaree Council was contacted for comment.

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