Nine-year-old Solomon Perkins sprang into action after he and his family discovered a lost duckling at their Tesoro home earlier this week.
“He got lost,” Solomon said. “He was following his mother, but his mother was probably going too fast for him, so he made a wrong turn, probably.”
The Perkinses aren’t sure how the duckling got separated from its parents, but were determined to help it after it had climbed into their garage, according to Solomon’s mother Thea-Marie Perkins.
After getting the duckling to hop into their dog’s travel carrier and giving him some water, Solomon did a little research online to find out its natural habitat, he said.
“He came back with a blueberry , and told me, ‘They like fruit, Mommy,’” Perkins added. “They also like grains, so Solomon gave him some oatmeal, which we’d had that morning.”
After adding some grass, Solomon was satisfied with the duckling’s temporary enclosure and was set on finding its home, which the Perkinses believed to be the lake at Tesoro Adobe Park a couple blocks away.
“At this point, all of the neighborhood kids were rallied around the duckie,” Perkins said, adding that it became a community effort.
Upon arriving at the lake, the duckling immediately began jumping up, flapping its wings and making noises, and when released, instantly ran to two ducks that had been sitting at the water’s edge.
“It was just incredible,” Perkins said. “It looked like the ducks were just sitting there, waiting for something. They were clearly the momma and papa duck. It was a miracle.”
After being reunited, the duck family immediately hopped in the water, and the Perkinses watched as the duckling quacked happily alongside its mother.
