Animal Control deals with a ton of these calls and it really isnt a reflection on people unless they find problems, in that case the call is justified.

Pringles was necleted and left to die and my mom woudlnt have been as nice as Mr Flappers mom I can tell you that. Mom has had to make those calls before and she knows how hard this was. Pringles says good job Flappers mom for caring about the ducks : )

Nicky

PS I have an AFLAC duck for you if you want it…And it QUACKS!!!

Big hugs, Tiff. Thank you for looking out for the beaky types.

To say in theory, we did our best, but they just didn’t get better and so we let them suffer – not able to get food, swollen joints which are painful, lack of feathers and etc…. is not acceptable. The kind thing would have been to have the poor ducks put to sleep and end their suffering.

So one wonders, at least I do, have there been other animals there in similar situations in the past that suffered? I don’t mean suffered from a short illness that was cured, but truly suffered. Suffered like Jane.

It is cruel to let animals get to a point that they are days, hours, moments from death the way that Jane appeared to suffer. If the former owners don’t have the knowledge to care for waterfowl, then they need to get educated. If it’s a case of money then reach out to animal rescue groups sooner. But for the love of God, don’t let the poor animals suffer.

As animal people we all know there is a point of no return. There is a point where our help is not going to make a difference. The kind loving thing is to put the animal(s) to sleep. End their suffering. Show some compassion.

I would also seek more information from the place where the ducks came from. There has to be a story there too.

So my strong reaction is to the suffering. Like cats sometimes its hard to tell when they are sick because they hide it well, like ducks, but there is a point where you know something is wrong. Feather quality and the look in Jane’s eyes should have been a strong indicator. (There are/were three ducks currently with same indicators)

Indicators that can not be ignored. As I said, there is a point of no return and then the compassionate thing is to set them free from their suffering.

I pray that Lily and Sam make a full recovery. If not I at least know, albeit difficult, that Tiff will do the right thing and end their suffering if it comes to that.

Jane will always stick with me.

K~

And how did the care of the special-needs child interfere with the care of the ducks? Was it that the family couldn’t afford to bring the three to the vet? That is understandable, but they should have immediately given the ducks to a foster parent who could have afforded the care, rather than letting the illness linger. As Elaine says above, they didn’t get that way overnight.

It doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut case, and I don’t have the knowledge to make an assessment.

At the very least, this situation must be investigated by the SPCA/law enforcement. It may not hurt to take away the remaining ducks. Their situation as a whole ought to be considered. Did they have any training before bringing home the ducks? What is their financial situation? Can they afford proper vet care for all of the animals? What course of action did they take with the other ducks when they were sick?

To address Elaine’s point, perhaps it is being questioned now as it appeared that the owners were doing what they could? Once the ducks came to Chez Flapper, it may be the case that more was learned of their sad situation that was previously known. It did appear that there was hope for them when they arrived here.