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Guelph woman seeking help to find missing duck

Two-year-old wood duck Wade has been missing since late Friday or early Saturday morning

A heartbroken Guelph woman is urging East end Guelph residents to keep an eye out for an unusual looking duck named Wade.

Wade is a two-year-old wood duck that Tazmin Smith rescued two years ago, when he was separated from his family. Sometime on late Friday or early Saturday morning, he escaped from the pen in her yard when she mistakenly left it open. 

Smith lives between The Ward and St. George’s Anglican Church, and expects he is likely in the area of Stevenson, Grange and Grove.

She has had Wade since the beginning of the pandemic, ever since her cat brought him home as a duckling. 

“My cat brought home a baby duckling uninjured. I think he just brought it home because he was rejected by his mom,” she said. 

She tried to get the humane society or local rescues to take him on, but no one was able to help at the time. 

“I basically became his mom. We are very close. He’s always really happy to see me – he does these little cheeps when he sees me.”

Wade isn’t your average duck. Smith says he thinks he’s a dog, because her dog was so enamoured with him when they brought him in – they would even cuddle. 

But she said he’s really friendly and cuddles with the whole family, especially her son. 

She has another duck, a black Cayuga named Vader, who she purchased to ensure Wade had a friend. – ducks are social creatures who need at least one companion. She said Vader is already showing signs of depression.

Smith, too, is distraught. 

“I’m really upset. All my animals are (my babies), but he really got me through some crap during COVID. He’s very important to me,” she said. 

Even if he finds his way to a group of ducks, he’ll likely stick out, as his markings are different from the standard Mallard’s – Smith said she’s never even seen a wood duck in this area before. 

“We don’t even know where he came from, because my cat brought him home,” she said.

He responds to “Wade,” “peep peep” and “little man.” 

If you see him, Tazmin can be contacted through Facebook or Instagram


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Taylor Pace

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