Sebastian, a handicapped duck with wheels!
In Loving Memory of Sebastian
June 17, 1995--December 26, 2007
A Special Place
You have a special place Dear Lord
that I know you'll always keep
A special place reserved for ducks
when they quietly fall asleep
With large and airy meadows
and a yard for finding bugs,
Lord, I know You keep this Special Place
And so to You I pray,
For one Special duck who quietly died today
She was full of strength and love
and so very, very wise.
she went to join the other ducks
To Your land that is so Divine
So, speak to Sebastian softly please
And give her a warm hello.
She's a Special gift to You Dear Lord
From Sharon, who loved her so....
Handicapped pets
are not limited to just dogs and cats.
This is a story about one
women's love for her handicapped duck
One summer rainy night in June
1995 I saw a tiny yellow duckling crawling & struggling to walk
across the sidewalk, Some cruel person didn't think her life was worth anything
and threw her out with the garbage. He had cuts and scrapes all over his tiny
body. To make matters worse for this little duckling, he was handicapped
his legs were deformed, they bend at the hock and were locked in
place, he couldn't stand up and walk like a regular duck he had to
crawl in order to get around, I picked him up & cradle this little baby in
my arms & I took him straight to the doctor to see if anything could be
done for his legs to give him a chance at life, but they wanted to put him to
sleep they said nothing could be done for his legs he had slipped tendons or
(Perosis ) most likely due to a nutritional deficiency, there was no way I
could let them put this little duck to sleep, instead I made the decision
to take him home & care for him myself, I became his mother duck & this
little ducky became my child ...
I had no idea what so ever
how to take care of a baby duck no less one that couldn't walk, duck food was
very hard to find in my area & I knew better not to feed her just bread she
would have died on a diet of just bread so please if anyone is just feeding
bread to there ducks please stop, so I fed him dry kitten food moisten in water
for the first month until I did some research, Sebastian now eats Mazuri
Waterfowl Maintenance Diet by Purina....everyday that went by I was happy
to see that this little tiny duckling was still doing very good &
growing very fast the scrapes & cuts are starting to heal, I decided
to name him Sebastian not knowing if he was a boy or a girl, well it turned
out that Sebastian was a girl duck when she laid her first egg at the age
of 2 years old.....Sebastian has laid a total of 50 eggs in 12
years....
Well Sebastian is all grown up
now & still doing very good she celebrated her 12th Birthday on June
17, 2007....over the pass 12 years I have learned a lot about owning a duck,
it's hard work & dedication that I had put into the caring of
Sebastian, I unselfishly and unconditionally love Sebastian...if it were
not for my love and commitment & my own sacrifice, with no time off and no
vacations, & round the clock care Sebastian wouldn't be here....My husband
built the wheelchair that is in the top photo....
Happy 12th Birthday
Sebastian
Sebastian is just the love of my life, I just love Sebastian so
much words cannot describe it...her life is filled with love, hugs & kisses
everyday, since she is handicapped I have to do everything for her, it's a lot
of work & dedication but I don't mind it one bit because of the strong love
I have for this duck, we both love each other so much & are so
bonded.
Sharon & Sebastian
|
 
Baby Sebastian |
|
Sebastian has her own
bedroom and sleeps in a playpen on baby blankets, she needs to be kept on soft
surfaces so she doesn't get sores on her hocks, her hocks are wrapped in self
grip to prevent sores, our day begins with good morning & happy to
see you kisses, then I changed the blankets she was sleeping on all night
with clean fresh ones, then after that I go and get her breakfast ready, she
knows I making it because she starts quacking up a storm, after breakfast she
will take a nap, after the nap comes more blanket changes and lunch, after lunch
I will put her in the kiddie pool for her daily bath & swim when she ready
to come out I put her in her outdoor pen where she preens herself and enjoys the
sunshine, I begin her laundry by washing all her towels & blankets and I
scrub out her playpen clean, after several hours of being outside in her pen, I
take her out and hold her on my lap for some petting and play time or we just
sit on the grass and play, now it's toward the evening I feed her dinner her
tummy is full...I can sit and relax for a while until later when I give her a
snack before she goes to bed kiss her good night shut the lights and start all
over again the next day........
Here is another wheelchair idea you can use
if you have a duck with walking problems this is not for use in wild ducks only
if you have a pet duck that you can supervised, this is only for
temporary use do not keep your duck in it all day, my good friend Caroline gave
me the part & idea to build it for Sebastian it's made with PVC pipes &
end connector with castor wheels, I sewn material around it and put two holes in
the material to put her feet thru it....Sebastian can't walk in this but it does
help her stay off of her hocks for a while, Sebastian is always
supervised....
THE
DUCK TRUCK
When
you have a pet that is handicapped and you unconditional take care of that pet
the love that you received back is so much worth the work that it takes to care
for them. Never give up on your beloved pets that can no longer walk they
deserve every chance that a human does, because all forms of life is precious,
& thanks to Mark for making such a wonderful web site dedicated to
handicapped pets...........Sharon & Sebastian |
