Creature injured on road made it to a Florida pond, then was ‘struggling to stay afloat’
A Southwest Florida duck is back in the wild, fully recovering after being hit by a car late last month in Dunedin, outside Clearwater.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, a call came in at around 8 p.m. July 28 concerning two ducks that had been struck in the street.
Deputy Lira Rangel responded, as did a a member of the Clearwater Audubon Society-Bird Sanctuary for an assist.
When they arrived, they saw one of the ducks had already died from its injuries, while the other one had made its way to a nearby pond, where “he struggled to stay afloat,” says the sheriff’s office in a Facebook post.
“Without hesitation,” the deputy entered the waist-deep water and retrieved the poor thing, fearing it could drown, and handed it off to the sanctuary worker.
READ MORE: See baby chicks get rescued from a drain in Florida
On the post you can see the smiling deputy holding the bird in his arms, wrapped in a towel.
Underneath, in the comments section, folks couldn’t get enough of this heart-warming tale:
“Love this!”
“Thank you for your service to all creatures in our community.”
“Above and beyond.”
“HERO!”
READ MORE: See what emergency crews rescued from a tree in Florida
This story was originally published August 21, 2023 at 12:31 PM.
