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Friday, October 19, 2012

A Lucky Duck

The other evening I was surprised by a hissing black and white critter hiding in the tall grass around our mailbox. I assumed it was a feral kitten, got gloves and went to pick it up.

Imagine my disbelief when a male Ruddy Duck came hurtling out of the grass to snap at my ankles. Feisty little guy!

After chasing him down the road a bit and pulling in the assistance of Dean and our neighbor, we corralled him in Dean's sweatshirt and put him in a basket for safe keeping overnight until I could take him into WRC with me on Thursday. He had a bit of blood smear along a wing, but I didn't really look at him much, I didn't want to stress him out any further.


He's since been examined and treated by Vet Renee Schott at WRC. I wrote up a Case Study for him, you can read about it, see his admit exam video and photos of his x-rays here.

I still smile at comment made by a woman who was driving by, only to have to wait for us to herd the duck off the road before she could move on: She asked in a stunned voice "Are you chasing a DUCK down the road?"  I explained that yes, indeed I was, and that I worked at WRC so I'd take him in to get help. Her reply: "Well, that's one lucky duck!"

10 comments:

  1. He sure is! Thanks so much for taking care of him!

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  2. Sweet little boy! So glad he was found by someone as wonderful as you!

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    1. Awww, thanks, Julie :-) Amazing how small Ruddies are. I always forget until I'm up close with one.

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  3. I just love stories like these. I found a baby Anhinga once and had to relocate it. It's great to read about these compassionate actions from our part as humans.

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    1. I remember your post about the Anhinga, Maria. What an amazing experience that must've been!

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  4. This is a heart warming story Tami! He is a luck duck.

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    1. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my post, Mia!

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  5. Just ducky Tami! He was delivered to the right msilbox!

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    1. LOL - I didn't think about the "mailbox delivery" spin, Cindy. It's a good one! I'll have to ask you to co-author some of my blog posts :-)

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