Saturday, February 5, 2011

Diapered Ducks and Italian Greyhounds

I love ducks. I'm imagining of what life would be like if we added a pet duck to our pack of four italian greyhounds. Probably not a smart move. I doubt all my dogs would be as good with one as the little dog in these photos. (Click on the photos to get a better look.)
Keep your friends close! Sitting on the couch... Holy Crap!  I am a bad dad today! I can keep up with the best of 'em.
As I child, I longed to have a duck as a pet. My grandmother's cousin had a pet duck named Sammy. I had met Sammy a few times and wished my parents would allow a duck inside. My family had a tiny pond on their property, so there were tame ducks that my sister and I snuck inside to watch the TV with us, but full time pet ducks were not really welcomed in our parents home.

Recently, I was in touch with a friend of our family, who shared photos of his duck. It is a Call duck named D-For and has been a part of his family for 5 years. The photos above show D-For with Millie the dog, whom he shadows and thinks is his Mom. In two of the photos, D-For is wearing diapers inside the home. I'm still puzzled over how one diapers a duck. How would you get a diaper to stay on a duck?

Click here to see a video of D-for playing tether ball.

Raising a duckling as a pet would be a fun thing, but a huge commitment. I was surprised to learn, duck's can live from 10-30 years depending on the species. D-For has an expected lifespan of 20 years. One needs to spend time with a bird, everyday, as interaction is vital to a bird's health.

As long as I'm 'ducking' you, I thought I'd share this picture of a bread box I am slowly working on. It is painted with acrylics and is not my own original design. I need to finish the highlighting of the ducks, plus highlights and shadowing of the leaves.
Ducks in Basket

2 comments:

Art and Sew Forth said...

I loved D-for! I had ducks for a long time. One was a pet. He imprinted to us and thought he was one of us and went for walks with us to the creek and back. So fun. I hope you can get one someday!

Road Dog Tales said...

Thanks for sharing the duck info. I love ducks, but I'm kinda with your parents on this one. I'm not sure I would want them in the house :) Now, bunny rabbits - that's another story. But, if I'm smart, I will stick to dogs only.

Deanne