[5] As a salvage scuba diver, Goodridge fostered orphaned seal pups before releasing them back into the wild.
The children were accustomed to living with a seagull (Sam Segal), robin (Reuben), crows (Klinker and Columbus),[5] pigeon (Walter), and even a bat, which Goodridge trained to eat flies from one's hand.
[5] Thalice, Goodridge's wife, was very tolerant of her husband's affection for bringing wild animals back to their home.
[10] Andre lived with the Goodridges for seven months out of the year, splashing in the bathtub, sledding down the hill to the harbor, and watching his favorite television program Flipper with the children.
Later on, he moved back to about 4:30 p.m.”[4] Tricks included dancing the twist, shooting basketballs, jumping through a motorcycle tire,[5] blowing a horn, and towing a dinghy while playing dead.
People just knew.”[5] Goodridge kept Andre in a "floating tent" in the Rockport Harbor during the summer while performing his tricks for an estimated 25,000 gathered spectators.
[2] The NBC reality television series Real People featured a segment where host George Schlatter interviewed Goodridge and documented Andre's annual release from the aquarium and his 200 plus mile journey to Rockport harbor.
The statement received such public backlash that Brennan was forced to release a formal apology during his 1982 re-election campaign.
"[5] By 1985, Goodridge no longer received any royalties from the hardcover or paperback issues of his book ‘’A Seal Called Andre’’,[2][8] even though both had sold over 100,000 copies by that time.
[8] Andre's popularity produced T-shirts, tote bags, postcards along with other merchandise in local gift shops; yet Goodridge saw none of the profits.
[2] Veterinarian Victor J. Steinglass stated he believed Andre made his annual swim up the New England coast from Cape Cod in his final year in almost complete darkness.
[2][12] After 25 summers spent in Rockport with Goodridge, Andre died in July 1986 due to an apparent fight with another male seal.