What The Duck?!

[combatgoldfish]

Great now they're coming after our ducks!!! :eek:

Iraq veteran cited for owning 14 therapeutic pet ducks

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ohio — An Army veteran who hurt his back during the Iraq War is worried a citation will result in him losing his 14 pet ducks, which he says are therapeutic.

Darin Welker said officials in the village of West Lafayette told him to get rid of the ducks in May and cited him for a minor misdemeanor on June 23 for failing to comply. Walker is scheduled to appear in Coshocton Municipal Court for a hearing Wednesday and could face a $150 fine.

Welker, 36, says the ducks help him with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and keep him more active.

West Lafayette, about 80 miles east of Columbus, banned residents from keeping fowl and other farm animals in 2010.

Mayor Jack Patterson declined to comment on Welker's predicament and referred questions to village police Chief Terry Mardis, who couldn't be reached for comment.

Welker told the Coshocton Tribune that he's had the ducks since March. He said they motivate him to get out of the house so he can feed and clean up after them.

"They're quite a relaxing animal, and they help comfort me in different situations," Welker recently told the Tribune as he held one duck like a baby and stroked its neck. "(Watching them) keeps you entertained for hours at a time."

Welker served a year in Iraq with the Army National Guard in 2005 and said he came home with a major back injury that required surgery in 2012.

The Department of Veterans Affairs paid for the back surgery but declined to pay for physical therapy recommended by his surgeon and did not provide him with counseling, he said. That's partly why he has come to rely on the ducks, he said.

Welker said he's planning to tell the judge how much the ducks have helped him. He said he has a letter from the VA's mental health department recommending he be allowed to keep them.

The 14 ducks live in a penned-in area in Welker's backyard, which also has kiddie pools so they can swim.

Link Removed

 

[Raven]

He should just pay the $150 and call it a mother f*cking day. The article is unclear as to what the penalties would be should he lose at the hearing, aside from the fine.

Alternatively, he could get a wildlife rehabilitation license. Those aren't too hard to backdoor, and he'd be able to have whatever he wants on his property.

 

[Grizzly]

Why not register them as service animals?

 

[combatgoldfish]

I wish I had a flock of service geese. Way more aggressive than ducks

 

[Friday]

Okay. I'll go there.

Duck & cover.
Bunch of quacks.
This guy's slicker than duck shit.
Did yours die, too? (Old AA joke.)
(To the tune of row row row your boat, middle school song below)
f*ck f*ck f*ck a duck. Screw a kangaroo. Fingerbang an orangutan. Support your local zoo.

Seriously, though. Raven's on the money. Get a license. Show up at hearing with license. Threaten to invoke a zillion angry PETA & Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals activists on Ohio. Done.

 

[reddevil1111]

I know a good relish to serve with duck. Very tasty.
capers
onion
bell peppers
lemon juice
lemon zest
pepper
salt

add stuff, mix put in fridge for 2 hrs.

its high in acid and it helps break the greasy duck and refresh, very tasty. I sometimes add some peppers if I have them....

That said I know what to do with the evidence....:)

 

[Wagon]

I wonder at how the number of ducks was arrived at? Is 14 more therapeutic than perhaps 12. Why not 7?

He should move here. west PA. My town only has a cloven hoof ordinance. Keep as many birds as you want. Neighbor has 6 chickens and one duck that thinks its a chicken.............That duck is prime for eaatin though.