Corina learned the joy of ducks, in part, from Gloria Gaynor. That’s Gloria Gaynor, Corina’s first rescue duck.
Gloria was in rough shape when Corina got her through an ad on Craigslist. “She was starting to die,” Corina said. So, she took the duck home and provided her the proper care and diet. Within days, Gloria Gaynor was doing better. And, as her namesake’s hit song says, she survived.
“It brought me so much joy,” Corina said of watching Gloria Gaynor, who she’s since nicknamed Pita, recover. “I don’t know how to describe it. I think I got more out of it than she did.”
“They’re funny and interesting. They bring so much joy to my life. I just love them.”
Corina now cares for 12 ducks, four of them ducklings. The most recent two to join her flock are Augie and Delilah, whom she adopted from Anderson Humane. Both ducks have malformed legs, likely from improper diet provided by their original caretaker. The duo have already settled into their hutches in the shed Corina’s husband built for their ducks.
“Every time I look out, they’re doing just fine,” Corina said. “They’re learning the routine from the other ducks.”
Corina has been an animal lover since she was a young girl, when her family had dogs, cats, ducks, parakeets, and rabbits. She even trained their three ducks to walk to their pond and back. “Ducks are really smart,” she said, adding that her team of ducks knows when it’s time to eat and what it means when Corina gets out the shovel (she’s going to dig for worms!).
Her favorite is when the ducks are happy, like when she gives them fresh water in their pool or puts fresh hay in their hutch. “They squeak like crazy and dive in and out of the water all excited,” she said. When asked “why ducks?,” Corina has a ready answer: “They’re funny and interesting. They bring so much joy to my life. I just love them.”
Today, Corina is passing along the joy of ducks to her seven grandkids, who love visiting her waddling team. On their next visit to grandma’s house they will meet Augie and Delilah, who are no doubt thrilled to be in such a loving home – and companions to Gloria Gaynor.