ming that a duck would be a cool pet, especially if it followed him around his yard quacking. That sounded like an open invitation to me! When we went to buy him the 2 cute, little, fuzzy ducklings I made the FATAL mistake of bringing my children. What a STUPID woman I can be! I think I'm going to blame Robert for introducing the very idea of ducks into our world! What a naughty brother!All I heard all weekend was. We need some ducks too. I caved. In a true moment of weakness I gave in and stopped at the pet store. Three ducklings later and we were on our way home. The "helpful" pet store employees told me the ducklings had to stay inside for about 6 weeks so they didn't get eaten by the neighborhood cats. Made sense to me, they would live in their little terrarium and we could watch them lovingly. What could possibly go wrong?
NEVER ask what can go wrong...
Who knew that ducks grow at an alarming rate? Certainly not me! By the end of 5 weeks they were almost full
grown! We had to set up a baby corral around a kiddie pool in my salon. This was not building the loving pet bond I had envisioned. I admit, they did follow me around the yard during the day when we went out to play or do yard work, but that hardly made up for the duck smell that was lingering in my salon! Nor did the fact that one of the ducks was slightly neurotic help their cause (ironically it was Lauren's duck, Cookie, and the only male in the bunch).It has been funny to watch the neighbors driving past do a triple take and watch the word 'duck' form on their lips. They aren't too bad as far as pets go. They aren't excessively noisy, they make for a good show and tell (at least Rachel's duck, Bubba, does), they are funny to watch play in the pool, they can forage for bugs if we forget to feed them, and so on. But the weather has turned colder and I am now wondering what we are going to do with 3 ducks during the winter.
Oh yeah, did I forget to mention these ducks are NOT the type that migrate? They are Pekins, the kind you eat in good Chinese restaurants. Which brings in another whole dimension to my duck "tail". Rob wants to eat them. The girls have finally consented to let him feast on Cookie and Bubba (with the stipulation that they get a dog once the ducks are gone). Ben cries every time this conversation comes up...it looks like Sassy is safe for the time being.
It's bad enough that one day Rachel was standing on the deck looking lovingly at the ducks playing in the water and saying in her little raspy voice "poor, poor ducks. Daddy's gonna eat you so I can have a dog". I think their days are numbered!
My other two mistakes came in the form of kittens. I found an abandoned feral kitten in our backyard under the dump truck tire. It was so small that it barely covered my hand and it had to be bottle fed. I dutifully loved and fed and cared for Oreo for 3 and 1/2 weeks. In the end he didn't make it. I was worried about my kids, but kids are resilient and moved on quickly enough!
My mom found another stray kitten which she so kindly bestowed upon us after Oreo's death. Wolverine was an awesome cat, he was fluffy and orange and cuddly. He actually turned into my cat and I was happy when h
e would purr upon seeing me!We really were not destined to be pet people...Wolverine ran away when we left town in a hurry for a funeral. I think he just got too lonely and went and found a new home. Truth be told, I cried when I found out he was gone. Seriously, why couldn't it have been the damn ducks that ran away? We obviously weren't meant to have a kitten!
Rob and I very seldom fight, and the kitten situation was the closest we've come to fighting in years. I can't believe he didn't divorce me for the cats-he HATES cats!!! So, like I said...Don't tell PETA and for now we will avoid acquiring more pets...it's safer for everyone!
In the mean time, does anyone want a few ducks?
No comments:
Post a Comment