Of all the farm animals out there, ducks might not be considered lovable or even full of personality.
But don’t tell that little Kaylie Arterburn. Her two pet ducks, Cloe and Cletus, not only are cherished pets, they are a big part of her family.
So when East Ridge Animal Control personnel told Kaylie’s mom that having the ducks inside city limits violated a long-standing ordinance against farm animals, Jennifer Arterburn went to work.
“I just cried and cried when they told me I had to get rid of the ducks,” Ms. Arterburn said. “But the city has really worked with us.”
Ms. Arterburn and her fiance, Jase Chancey, went before the City Council, pleading for leniency on the ordinance.
“The ducks were Easter presents to my daughter,” Ms. Arterburn said. “They are really a part of the family.”
City leaders granted the family a 180-day moratorium on enforcing the ordinance. In that time, the city attorney will rewrite the laws in such a way to allow for pets such as the ducks, but not to open the door for livestock inside the city limits.
“You don’t want anyone saying that their family cow is also a pet,” said Mayor Mike Steele.
But there is room for some animals, he said.
“Nowadays, when you consider what’s a family pet, you really have to realize that it’s going to run the gamut,” Mr. Steele said. “People, of course, have dogs and cats, but they also have snakes, hamsters, and you have to be accommodating.”
Ms. Arterburn said the big white Pekin ducks were raised in a bedroom in a small pool but are now outside animals. They are so imprinted by humans, they don’t realize they could fly out of the family’s Fawn Drive home, she said.
The ducks take a good bit of work, she said, so she’s not so sure they’d make a perfect addition to just any family.
But Ms. Arterburn and Kaylie swear the ducks have personalities and that their quacking is a joy for their neighbors.
“They will sit by our window and look in, quacking,” Ms. Arterburn said. “They have tons of personality.”
Kaylie, a Brainerd Baptist School second grader, thinks the ducks make pets as good as dogs or cats.
“They are so sweet, and they don’t bite that much — unless you make them really mad,” she said.