The Duck Dog Dilemma

In Loving Memory of Sarge

Sarge was a Springer Spaniel mix that looked much like the one in the image below.  Like the dog pictured below and like the dog in the image below he was a inmate at the animal shelter.

Picture courtesy of Newberry County Animal Adoptions

My mother adopted him when he was just a puppy some eleven years ago with a big chain around his neck.  He was the very image of a pound puppy and she took him home with her to fill the empty pen that once almost housed my dog, Sheba.

He lived in the house, the, yard, on a chain and in the pen and was given a very good life by my mother and our family but sadly he passed away this passed Weekend and Mt Brother in Law did the honors of burying.  I am quite sure my mother will plant dozens of daffodils on the site to commemorate his passing and the joy he brought to our family.

But now we are left with the duck.

The duck was an Easter gift I got my mother last year.  I had gotten her one the previous Easter but at the time she was unsure of whether to not to allow the dog and the duck in the same pen so Sarge became an indoor our door house dog and the duck took over his pen.  He was a dyed duck with a gimp head, though my mother denies this imperfection, he defiantly was gimpy.  One eye was always looking at the sky and it was this imperfection that caused me to choose this duck from the pet shop from dozens of others.

She named her duck Emeril and hung out with him every day.  She told me he was the best gift I ever got her every one was happy until disaster struck.

My mother lives out in the woods on her personal ponderosa and we believe a predator got in the pen and killed sweet Emeril.  It was a very sad time for everyone but she acquired a covered smallish pen that was covered and requested I get her a duck for easter again.

This duck lived in the small pen and sarge moved back out to the huge pen in the back yard because he had to many problems to be in the house anymore because he was deaf and blind.  This was not a cruel move because he could not run into things in the pen as he could in the house and had a huge shed to protect him from the elements.

Most  would think all was good at this point but not my mother because she is a true ani,al lover and felt the small pen was just not enough room for the duck when the big pen had a swimming pool in it for sarge to drink from and lay in if it were hot  and the huge shed and much more room. So because sarge was deaf as well as blind she movced the duck in with sarge which ended up being a fantastic arrangement!

You see Sarge had a very hard time fining his water and his food because he was deaf and blind and no longer cared much too groom himself but the duck to care of that.  The duck would spend hours a day cleaning his dog and when my mother brought out their food the duck would first herd Sarge to the food then water with that done the duck would eat .

We still think this is one of the most incredible relationships we have ever encountered in outr life times and it went on for just shy of a year, until now.

Now with Sarge gone the duck is miserable and we do not know what to do.  It would be very hard to got and get a dog that would not hurt the duck no matter how good he or she seems to be in the pound they have instincts to kill and with Sarge the reason the friendship happened may have been need and the fact he was mostly deaf and blind.  I do not think we can duplicate that other than by giving princess my animal loving dog to my mother which would cause my boys upset as well.

I suggested a duckling since it is now Easter time again and I am sure they will have one that is a bit older and less saleable because his big feathers are coming in (others buy for cute) but because of this the new duck will not be as fragile as one a few weeks younger. We are not sure they would get along but the poor duck is miserable and alone he is much more likely to fall victim to a predator.  I even though a gosling might work because they are pretty good defenders and since it would be a baby they might be friends too.  Do let me know what you think!