The duck that thinks it's a dog

KentOnline / KMTV

30/11/2023

For more, see KentOnline.co.uk

Transcript

00:00 It mainly started, I've had ducks before,

00:02 but four and a half years ago,

00:03 I put loads of eggs in the incubator,

00:06 and 12 hatched out that day,

00:08 but one hatched out and it followed me everywhere

00:11 like a little dog, hence his name, Dog.

00:14 So I decided to pet it and look after it

00:17 and take it back to my boat and cuddle it.

00:19 And nowadays, Dog and I have been together

00:21 for four and a half years,

00:23 and we go camping together.

00:25 He's just like a normal dog.

00:26 He follows me around all day long,

00:29 and then we do War of the Roses reenactment.

00:31 So during the battle, he has to stay in a cage.

00:34 But after the battle,

00:35 he comes around meeting and greeting people.

00:37 He's such a friendly duck.

00:38 He'll sit on my hand like this one,

00:40 or just walk beside me.

00:42 That's why I love ducks.

00:43 And now I need a replacement,

00:46 because next year we're getting a lot of bookings.

00:48 People say, "Oh, can you bring the duck to this event?"

00:51 I just don't want to let anyone down.

00:55 So I've got two ducks to take along with me now

00:58 instead of the one.

00:59 But Dog and Goldie are friends.

01:01 I got the egg from the local farm shop

01:03 at Grange Road in Raynham.

01:05 I put four eggs in the incubator,

01:08 and 28 days later, this one hatched out.

01:11 But Goldie loves a little routine every morning.

01:15 She has lettuce, melon, peas.

01:18 And then when we go for a swim,

01:19 dinner time, she'll have a little swim in the pond.

01:22 I'll put her down on the floor.

01:24 She'll shake herself down, flap her wings,

01:27 and then we'll walk from the pond

01:28 all the way back to the workshop.

01:30 And if I stop, she stops before, beside me,

01:33 just like Dog does.

01:34 I take Dog back to my boat most evenings,

01:37 and I sit there.

01:37 We do like watching Count Duckula.

01:39 Together, we've watched all episodes of Count Duckula.

01:42 And then some nights, I do take Goldie back.

01:45 And then at nighttime, when we've finished,

01:47 they go into the dog cage in the wheelhouse,

01:50 and they sleep in the wheelhouse.

01:52 And then in the morning, we have a little cuddle.

01:54 I have a cup of coffee before we walk all the way back

01:58 to my workshop.

01:59 They walk beside me.

02:00 It's lovely.

02:01 Jillingham Marina actually do pay me an allowance

02:03 every month for food for the ducks,

02:05 and we've got swans.

02:07 We just had a signet hatch out this year,

02:09 so they help provide finances for the signet,

02:12 for food, bedding.

02:14 It's a lovely little place.

02:16 We do go up the bar, the Waterfront Bar.

02:18 We go up there for a beer together.

02:20 Everyone knows the ducks, and they just love 'em.

02:22 They have photographs taken.

02:24 With Dog the duck, he's beautiful.

02:25 You can put him on your shoulder like a parrot,

02:28 and he'll sit there all day long.

02:29 He's just got no attempt to get off.

02:32 He'll just stay there.

02:33 With Dog, I like to take him out nearly every day,

02:37 just even when we have a quick stroll to the Strand and back.

02:39 This time of year, it's getting a bit dark after work.

02:42 It is very, very, and most people,

02:44 when they stroke Goldie or Dog, they go,

02:47 "Wow, I've never touched a duck before.

02:49 "They're so soft."

02:50 And the smile on their faces, you think, "Yeah, that's good."

02:53 But this City Wall Public House and the Queen Charlotte

02:56 do make us feel very, very welcome, very welcome.

02:59 But Dog, he's with us all evening.

03:03 He'll stand beside me, have a beer.

03:05 While I have a beer, he'll stand and follow,

03:08 meet with the other re-enactors.

03:09 He's like the mad duck man.

03:11 Everyone knows him as the mad duck man.

03:13 But it's just lovely when people meet and greet them,

03:17 the smiles on their face.

The duck that thinks it's a dog

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