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

handicapped pet

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.

handicapped pet

handicapped pet

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

handicapped pet

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