The Woodstock Sanctuary in upstate New York rescued two dozen ducks who had been boarded up in pens for their entire lives.
The birds were rescued from an animal hoarder and had been living in filthy, inadequate housing. Several of the birds had no access to proper shelter and even lost toes and combs to frostbite. In the end, the Sanctuary, the Ulster County SPCA, and a judge’s seizure warrant came together to obtain the birds. In September of 2012, almost a year after the heroes' initial efforts to rescue these poor animals, they were finally able to bring them to safety.
At first, they're afraid to take the first plunge. They have never seen sunlight or grass, nor had they ever gone swimming in a pond. The moment they finally dive in absolutely touched my heart and even made me laugh. Many YouTube commenters wonder why the team let the ducks find their own way into the water. The Woodstock Sanctuary says, "It was important to get the new ducks integrated into the flock swiftly because by the end of the day, they would be sharing a coop to protect them from nocturnal predators, and so any issues needed to be observed and dealt with if certain ducks were being picked on, etc., so that we could separate them again if necessary. The pond is a safe place for ducks because there are no corners, whereas the pasture perimeter does have corners."
These days, the lucky ducks enjoy sunshine on their feathers, water to swim in, clean bedding and room to roam free for the very first time.
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