Hey everyone!!! I'm the lucky owner of that adorable duck!! He is either a baby mallard or a baby wood duck. He has claws which lead us to believe he is a wood duck, but he LOVES to swim so we think he's a mallard. If anyone has any information on which one he might be, post it!!
His name is Pascal (Pass-CAL<like CALifornia>) and we think he is about 2 weeks old. He is the sweetest duck! He loves to cuddle and preen and chirp (he doesn't quite have a "quack" yet) and he'll follow anyone in the family around as if we're his mother. He'll even follow my black lab, Ernie, around (go here to meet ernie: http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...ght=meet+ernie)!!! They are quite the pair. Ernie is very gentle with Pascal. He lets the baby duck cuddle with him and peck at his fur.
Today we had a big event with Pascal. We called it... "The Launching of the Duck!" There were four people in the pool for extra safety precautions and Pascal came in and swam with us!!! He was so cute. He would dive under the water like a penguin. He pecked at the little bugs on the surface. He really was having a grand time. Poor Ernie was jealous cause he's not allowed in the pool.
It looks as though we're going to keep Pascal. We have a nice big yard, and we even have a big big pond in the backyard where Pascal might be able to meet some duck friends. In the Winter we can keep him in the finished basement. It'll be like his own little ducky apartment!!
Thanks for all your responses to Pascal. Keep them coming!