Do I sound a bit vague about Gus? Well that might have something to do with the fact that we were duck owners for exactly 1 day.
You see Gus (that's what Hubby called him) just turned up a few days ago in the paddock and it was clear from the start that he had been someones pet. He was friendly and used to come running whenever we fed the chickens. He knew what was going on and expected to be fed too.
The problem was that he kept coming in the yard and our dog Jessie is not to be trusted with feathered friends. All she wants to do is chase them and catch them and after that, well I hate to think.
So this morning while Jessie was still tied up Hubby lured Gus into our spare chicken pen with some food.
He was very happy with the bit of grain and once he was in the pen I did a quick circuit of the garden and found some snails for him too. He was very happy with those.
We set him up with a pool and left him alone.
Hubby really wanted to keep him but I knew that would not be possible without getting another duck to be his buddy and in reality that just meant more work and cost for us.
So this afternoon I spoke to one of our neighbours and asked them if they knew who he might belong to. It turns out that he belonged to one of our other neighbours who passed away recently. She had a a flock of ducks and one of her friends came and rounded them up after she died. It turns out that poor old Gus got left behind. He was probably hiding down at the dam.
Anyway one of the benefits of living in a small community is that the neighbour I called knew who had collected the ducks, and it was someone I have worked with on a couple of community projects.
So with one more phone call I was able to arrange to drop Gus off at their place so he could be reunited with his friends.
It is a bit of a relief to know he will be re-homed with his mates and that we are not going to have to take on another animal that we just don't need. Although I have to admit we got quite attached in just one day, the big sooks that we are.
Does this happen to you too? Do you get attached to animals quickly?
Yes, guilty as charged. We are all terrible sooks here when it comes to animals.
ReplyDeleteYour kindness to poor Gus is to be congratulated. I'm sure there are some out there who would not have taken the time to look out for him..have enjoyed reading your blog. take care.
ReplyDeleteHe's very cute. I get attached almost immediately. I'm glad Gus found a soft place to land.
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