Right before I was leaving Winslow today, one of the volunteers walked up with a box in her hand. On it was a note:
The boxes had a few rectangles cut out and this beak peaked out, so I peeked in.
Inside was a beautiful duck whose wings had been clipped. Obviously, she’d had human interaction and might have been someone’s pet.
Deb agreed to welcome her home and we carried the box to the pond where the three ducks live. I lifted her out and set her down (as she flapped like crazy). She immediately ran over to the ducks. Like, instantly. We were open-mouthed and excited.
She’s absolutely adorable. The boys in the pond were acting like they’d seen their crush and to play it cool, they pretended they didn’t see her.
On a more serious note, the way she arrived at the sanctuary is unacceptable. The box was taped shut and left close to the road. There’s the possibility that it wouldn’t have been seen and she could have frozen to death over night. Or a predator could have found her, trapped helplessly inside. Or what if the sanctuary had no room, leaving it up to Deb to do the leg work of re-homing it? It’s one thing to be desperate, but at least call and ask if it’s OK to bring a homeless animal.
Dropping off a box/carrier/anything and fleeing is never OK. If they’d called instead, the fact that the bird has clipped wings might have led to finding an owner. Or a bird sanctuary. Or someone who looking for a duck pal. Many things could have transpired. Instead, Deb was left without a choice but gained another mouth to feed. Each mouth adds up. Running a sanctuary is a labor of love not a cash cow. (Side note: every donation matters because every animal who lives there matters. Please support your local rescues!) Even leaving a $20 in the box with the duck would have been a good gesture.
Anyway, this story of a lucky duck ends with a wonderful home and new friends.
Minding the Minis 