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Leah-Evita "Vida" was an Ancona duck who hatched
in May of 2002 and arrived at our sanctuary in May of 2003 after a breeder got
bored with her. She was named after friends "Leah" and "David" and we called her
"Vida" for short--which means "life" in Spanish. Vida arrived at our sanctuary
soon after we lost Destiny duck, and we hoped that her lively name would bring
good fortune to our sanctuary's residents.
Of course the great thing about having the name
"Evita" was having so many songs at hand to sing to her. The sanctuary favorite was:
"Don't cry for me, my duck Vida.The
truth is, I never left you;All through your wild days, your mad existence,I kept my
promise, don't keep your distance."
Majestic... where every duck has a song...
Always the life of the party and the kind of duck drakes
dream about, this little girl brought plenty of life to our sanctuary! If there
was quacking to be done, Vida was likely the one doing it!
One of our favorite things about Vida was the
happy little noises she would make while hunting for
worms or foraging in the grass. And although she would QUACK and run away from
the boys, she would occasionally make a nest during the night and dream about
hatching out her unfertilized egg. We would laugh and coax her out of the hay
and onto the pond where she would swim happily all day long.
She may not have hatched out her own duckling,
but boy did she take to the little rescued ducklings who came into our
sanctuary, especially Gulliver. Finally... the chance to be a mother!
In her later years Vida became a seeing-eye
duck to her best friend Deirdre who began losing her sight to cataracts. As Vida
walked out of the barn every morning down to the pond, we would tell Deirdre,
"Follow the white duck!" And she would...
At 10:00 p.m. on April 2010, at 8 years old, Vida became
suddenly ill with Peritonitis and died within hours of her first symptoms. Her
ashes will reside at our sanctuary among her friends where she will remain forever in
peace.
Gulliver swims along behind Vida
Vida, Deirdre & Gulliver
Deirdre "Dear Heart" or "Dear-Dear" was abandoned on a pond and
became one of our first retired rescues on
October 21, 2004. As one
of our Majestic retirees,
she
had a very important task to perform at our
sanctuary. She was the "Mother Hen" of the
flock and provided leadership and consistency to
our newcomers. She is also the lovely face on the cover of: "The Ultimate Pet
Duck Guidebook."
It is important that when newcomers arrive at
our sanctuary, they
have stable sanctuary members to show them the
ropes. New ducks gain their confidence by
watching and copying veteran ducks maneuver
through our sanctuary's pens and through daily
routines and interactions. No one was better at
being a "Mother hen" than Deirdre.
Deirdre was able to relax and enjoy her year of retirement as a few newcomers
joined our sanctuary to take over her role. Deirdre's last year was filled with
swims on the pond, spa time in our bathroom tub (followed by a nice blow dry)
and plenty of time with her boyfriends Young Jeffrey (her favorite) and Young
Matthew.
One of the most special things about Deirdre was the little patch of curly
feathers on the back of her head and neck. For some reason, in her last year of
life, those tiny, little feathers began to curl and they were one of the most
precious things we have ever seen... and we even saved a few of these treasures
after she passed away.
With cataracts in both eyes and an arthritic left knee that was slowly
deteriorating and increasing in swelling, we began to anticipate her end of life
in August of 2010. With some good pain meds and a great attitude, she surprised
us all by living a full life right up until her final moments. And then on
January 31, 2011, Dear-Dear let us know that she'd had enough. Although blind,
her eyes were tired and she no longer showed an interest in swimming in the tub
or preening afterwards.
We increased her pain meds for her final hours to keep her comfortable and
then brought her to our vet at 9:00 a.m. February 2, 2011. She responded
immediately to sedatives and then immediately to the injection following. Her
near instantaneous "letting go" assured us that indeed her time had come and she
was ready to move on.
And now... at long last... Deirdre, Vida and Jezebel are all together
again... this time with their new friend Destiny...
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