Pet of the Month
Featured Pet of the Month - Stuart
We're looking forward to having fun with all kinds of pets on this page! The featured pet each month will be chosen from submissions sent in by our site visitors and JinglePets™ customers. We are devoted animal lovers and just can't get enough of reading about other folks pets and looking at cute or silly photos. If you would like to submit your pet for consideration for our Featured Pet page please send us your pet's story (around 250 words), along with your favorite pictures to: Pet of the Month submissions.
The first featured pet is, of course, our official JinglePets™ Spokes-Duck Stuart! We hope you enjoy his story and touring his photo gallery.
Stuart's Story
Life was good for Samantha and Dwayne in their beautifully restored Victorian home located in a small town in central North Carolina, but they felt something was missing. Of course that something was a duck! In early spring 2004, after three unsuccessful attempts at incubating an egg, they found a local feed store that had ducklings for sale.
Sam and Dwayne, eager to add to their family, left work early one day for a visit to the feed store. There they found a box of twenty or so fuzzy yellow baby ducks. It was a tough decision but they knew Stuart was the one when he went to sleep in Samantha's hands. After paying $4 for little Stuart the clerk at the feed store placed him into a small paper bag along with some feed, and Stuart's big adventure started.
Stuart, born on March 5, 2004, was just under a week old when he found a new home with Sam and Dwayne. Stuart is a Pekin duck which is a breed of domesticated duck. Originally bred from the Mallard duck in China, it is the most popular commercial duck breed in the US. An adult Pekin duck usually weighs between 8-11 pounds, has an upright posture, all white feathers and an upturned backside. The Pekin duck has legs and feet which are perfect for paddling through water and are quite happy when they have liberal access to water to swim. Many believe that Donald Duck is modeled after a Pekin duck.
Tiny Stuart, without a duck Mom to help raise him in a natural setting, had a little bit of a rocky start. But lots of love, hours of research, guidance from other duck parents, and visits to the vet soon put him on the road to a healthy duck lifestyle. Because Stuart was so small and needed constant monitoring, for the first two weeks Samantha took Stuart to work with her every day. She kept a close watch on him throughout the day while he snuggled under a heat lamp.
As Stuart grew, so did his personality! He wanted to be with his Mom and Dad as much as he could and followed them everywhere his little duckie legs could take him. They soon found creative ways to include Stuart in most of their outings. Sam was fond of putting little Stuart into the pocket of her sweatshirt and taking him along on errands or out to dinner. Stuart would often play hide-n-seek in Samantha's hair where he would fall fast asleep.
When Stuart was about two months old he started wearing a diaper harness made especially for ducks and geese. It took about 6 months for him to become accustomed to wearing a diaper. Stuart loves to have his diaper changed! After a diaper change and a clean-up he's charged up and ready for action, running all around chasing his toys or Dwayne's toes.
Early on it became obvious that Stuart loves to be clean...as we all do!
Of course being a clean duck requires water, so Stuart has 2 pools; a kiddie pool, and a small above ground pool. He thoroughly enjoys swimming and likes to dive underwater to the bottom and then pop up on the other side of the pool and even likes to swim during the colder months. Sam and Dwayne clean the ice off the top of the water, Stuart gleefully jumps in the pool and splashes around among the ice chunks. After a vigorous swim he spends about 20 minutes meticulously preening his feathers. A duck has to look his best at all times!
Stuart is one lucky guy! He has his very own bedroom with lots of fun toys and comfortable cushy pillows. Being a big music lover, Stuart spends his time while Samantha and Dwayne are at work listening to the radio and hanging out in front of his fan. It's the highlight of Stuart's day when Dad comes home from work. He plays a game of chase with Dwayne running around the yard and flapping his wings.
As Stuart got a little older, Samantha and Dwayne began to take him on trips. Stuart has traveled to Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and all over NC. He really enjoys riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway and is captivated by the Cape Hatteras lighthouse! Stuart enjoys camping and canoeing in "D's Stu Canoe".
A privileged pet indeed, Stuart sleeps in the bed with Mom and Dad. He likes to snuggle up on Dwayne's chest and sleeps peacefully through the night. Stuart begins each morning with a rousing game of soccer. Dwayne kicks a plush soccer ball for him to chase and Stuart prances around the room with the ball in his beak.
Stuart loves "all things feet". A few of his favorite activities are biting toes, chewing on socks and shoes, and one of his most prized toys is a rubber squeaky foot. His all-time favorite food is tomatoes and his favorite outdoor foods are bugs and earthworms.
"Stuart's house" is also home to two other birds, Charlie, a beautiful African Grey parrot, and Henry, a Cockatiel. Charlie does an amazing impression of Alfred Hitchcock and Henry seems to be content with sharing his beauty with the world! Both Charlie and Henry are quite verbal. They call Stuart's name repeatedly and talk to him throughout the day. Stuart is determined to maintain his position as leader of the Avian pack. When he thinks Sam and Dwayne are paying too much attention to Charlie or Henry he will run into the room and nibble toes as if to say, "Hey, what about me...what about ME?"
Stuart's birthday is cause for celebration each year. Samantha bakes duckie cakes and decorates with balloons. Stuart catches on to most activities very quickly and learned early on how to open presents by tearing the paper with his beak. He is certain that any and all gifts are meant for him whether the occasion is his birthday, Christmas, an anniversary, or even someone else's birthday. Wrapping packages can be a real challenge with Stuart supervising. He tries to open gifts as soon as Samantha adds the ribbon and bows.
Every day is a new adventure for Stuart and his Mom and Dad. For more about Stuart, the Official JinglePets™ Spokes-Duck, check out his blog.