Abused duckling rescued from lake, given permanent home

This duckling’s name is Mumble, but their story is anything but quiet.

Mumble was dumped into Ellis Lake in Merrysville, Calif. where children threw rocks at the bird and where other animals posed a threat to the duckling.

Jennifer Pasquetti with Pacific Waterfowl Rescue saw this interaction happen and rescued Mumble from further abuse.

“It’s heartbreaking to know, first off, that somebody would dump a domestic animal and other people would be cruel to it. Such animal cruelty is heartbreaking to me,” Pasquetti said to CBS 13.

“Domestics can’t fly so when you dump them at a local pond or park, you are basically giving them a death sentence. They don’t know how to live on their own.”

A duckling was rescued by the right person at the right time, in California. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
A duckling was rescued by the right person at the right time, in California. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Mumble, unfortunately, isn’t an unusual case. Lorraine Aubret, executive director of Pacific Waterfowl Rescue said that animal abuse is commonplace.

“They’re capable of feeling pain. We need to protect them. We need to respect them. I think encouraging people to report animal abuse to the authorities would be one thing. I think the biggest thing is not to abandon your pet ducks in public areas. It is a crime. There’s always other options. There’s rescues, animal shelters,” Aubret said to CBS 13.

Luckily for Mumble, Pasquetti was in the right place at the right time and has found a home with a conscientious caregiver.