I’m a big fan of runner ducks, and this story in particular has endeared me\u2014along with the rest of the internet\u2014to them forever.<\/p>\n
It’s the story of an Indian Runner duck named Daniel Turducken Stinkerbutt\u2014or “Daniel” for short. Daniel is an emotional support animal who stays by the side of his\u00a0keeper, Carla Fitzgerald. He’s there to help her through the PTSD she suffered after getting thrown from a horse-and-carriage and going through months of physical rehabilitation, according to a Washington Post\u00a0<\/a><\/em>article<\/a>. He cuddles her when she needs comforting and cues her to calm down by trying to climb up her legs when he senses she’s restless. Daniel wasn’t trained to do these things\u2014he just jumped in when he saw a need\u2014and now he’s an official member of the human flock.<\/p>\n Recently, Daniel accompanied\u00a0Fitzgerald on his first\u00a0airplane flight, and\u00a0animal-lover\u00a0Mark Essig, the author of Lesser Beasts: A Snout-to-Tail History of the Humble Pig<\/a><\/em>, happened to be sitting across the aisle. He captured the entire experience on Twitter.<\/p>\n My seatmate, CLT\u27a1\ufe0fAVL, is this handsome duck named Daniel. His gentle quacking eases the sadness of leaving #SFA16<\/a>. pic.twitter.com\/iDKWCceAFi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mark Essig (@mark_essig) October 16, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n