© Geoff Robinson Photography/REX/Shutterstock By Saryn Chorney , People Single parenthood can be tough, but rewarding. Just ask Fred, a yell...
 |
By Saryn Chorney, People
Single parenthood can be tough, but rewarding. Just ask Fred, a yellow Labrador hailing from Mountfitchet Castle near Stansted, Essex. He recently took a brood of nine baby ducks under his paw … and on top of his head … and lined up aboard his back (aww!) according to The Sun U.K.
This posh senior pup — Fred is 10 years old, a little long in the fang for fatherhood but here we are — adopted the miniature waddlers after their mom went missing last Thursday.
While it’s possible she high-tailed it to Windsor for the royal wedding, Jeremy Goldsmith, director of Mountfitchet Castle and Fred’s own human dad, tells The Sun, “We knew the mother duck was nesting and then suddenly these ducklings appeared but she was nowhere to be seen … We think it was possibly a fox.”
Meanwhile, the precious photos of Papa Fred and his adopted ducklings are making the viral rounds on social media.
This is Fred. He lives in an English castle with his nine fluffy children. Says being a single father is sometimes challenging, but always worth it. 13/10 for all pic.twitter.com/5yGoqQgPnU— WeRateDogs™ (@dog_rates) May 21, 2018
Many are tweeting about what a good boy Fred is, obviously.
Plus, this Good Dog Samaritan even cared for an injured squirrel in the past, reports the BBC.
Goldsmith further gushed about his dog and grand-ducklings to The Sun, stating, “Fred has got an absolutely wonderful nature. They absolutely love him."
The castle staff tell the BBC that the tiny quackers follow Fred everywhere, including into the moat for a swim. The babies also sleep alongside and on top of him in his dog basket.
“He has now resigned himself to being a stay-at-home dad looking after the nine baby ducklings,” Goldsmith tells the BBC.
Although the castle staff only expect Fred’s “babysitting services” to last a few weeks, they say the ducklings are free to stay at the Essex castle or venture out into the world on their own.
So, what’s the moral of today’s story? If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck … it could still have been raised by a dog.
this is a very good boy pic.twitter.com/SMMQH2AAXO— Alan White (@aljwhite) May 22, 2018
Plus, this Good Dog Samaritan even cared for an injured squirrel in the past, reports the BBC.
Goldsmith further gushed about his dog and grand-ducklings to The Sun, stating, “Fred has got an absolutely wonderful nature. They absolutely love him."
The castle staff tell the BBC that the tiny quackers follow Fred everywhere, including into the moat for a swim. The babies also sleep alongside and on top of him in his dog basket.
“He has now resigned himself to being a stay-at-home dad looking after the nine baby ducklings,” Goldsmith tells the BBC.
Although the castle staff only expect Fred’s “babysitting services” to last a few weeks, they say the ducklings are free to stay at the Essex castle or venture out into the world on their own.
So, what’s the moral of today’s story? If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck … it could still have been raised by a dog.
COMMENTS