You may recognize Duck, a 1-year old Cattledog mix, from Seattle Animal Shelter’s 2019 Year in Review video, which debuted at last year’s Furevermore Gala. Since her time on camera, Duck has made great strides both behaviorally and medically with her foster-turned-forever parent, Sarah.
Duck came to Seattle Animal Shelter when she was about 6-months old in April 2019 with a skin condition that created open sores and wounds. Duck received specialized treatment for this condition while in the Shelter’s care, including an analysis of the condition and treatment with antibiotics. After being adopted into the loving home of her foster mom Sarah, Duck’s condition has been closely monitored by her parents.
In addition to better treatment for her skin, Duck has made great improvements behaviorally as well. In the beginning of her foster care, Sarah noticed that the normal puppy “stranger-danger” behavior that usually goes away continued with Duck as she continuously barked as strangers approached. However, after successfully completing a puppy training class, Duck is now comfortable out in public and crowds having overcome her stranger-danger!
“She’s even mildly internet famous in the craft beer community,” says mom Sarah, sharing a photo of Duck at local brewery, Skookum. In addition to frequenting craft breweries with her parents, Duck enjoys anything involving food, going for neighborhood walks, hiking, beach exploration, and (playfully) harassing her feline brother. She’s also a fan of sleeping on her bed in front of the heater or curling up with her humans on the couch. When asked what silly things Duck does, Sarah shares, “[She] likes to lie on the dog bed in front of the fireplace and roll around on her back and sides making her signature grunty duck noises,” thus proving that Duck is a befitting name for this adorable pup.
Pictures: Top – A rare tender moment between Duck and her feline brother, T’Challa. Left – Internet famous Duck in front of Skookum brewery in Arlington.
“Duck has a sweet temperament, with an impish naughty side,” shares Sarah. Her favorite toys are anything she can destroy to snack on the stuffing – a reason why Sarah has restricted play time with Duck and her favorite toys. When she’s not destroying toys, she enjoys figure out treat puzzles with Sarah. “Duck is calm, relaxed and affectionate. When she decides she loves you, she really, really loves you,” says Sarah.
When asked what made Duck a foster fail, Sarah shared, “Some foster dogs just need help getting through a medical or behavioral issue prior to adoption, and you can tell that just given the right situation, they’ll be a confident, happy dog ready for a new adopter. Other foster dogs require significant dedication and work to get them to that point. Duck, of course, was the latter, and she really needed us to walk that road to recovery with her. It was really this work, this labor of love, that caused us to foster fail. Since my husband and I both work in the animal field, our jobs can be stressful and depressing, and Duck has given us not only a reason, but a requirement to get up, stay active, and stay dedicated to her schedule, and ultimately her medical and behavioral improvement. She looks to us for confidence, permission, and reassurance that whatever she’s doing is okay, and we look to her for the same! We make a great team and we couldn’t imagine our little team without her.”
Looking for ways to support Seattle Animal Shelter? Consider becoming a foster parent or volunteer, or donate to the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation to support the work of SAS.