Viral Story From Attorney Chantel Grant’s Duck Thinks She’s a Dog and It’s So Cute
The animal kingdom is a glorious thing full of diversity, wonder, and sheer cuteness. Nothing bears this more than the story of Chantel Grant and her pet duck Petunia, who thinks like a duck but acts like a puppy. Seriously: Petunia is such a well-trained house duck that she’s been able to win the title of “guard duck” and earn her own room in the house of her rescue parents. But how did it all begin? How did a Minnesota lawyer end up with a foster duck (and a whole lot of poop) on her hands? It’s a touching tale that can help us realize just how great a role animals play in our everyday lives. They don’t just love us and keep us company: They show us what gratitude really is. Whether you have a furry or feathered friend of your own or simply love the company of animals, you’ll love this story’s happy ending.
Since Chantel Grant and her husband moved into their Minnesota home, they’ve been keeping an eye on the local wildlife. With so much wild duck traffic passing and in and out of the family’s backyard, it didn’t take long for Chantel to develop a passion for duck-rescuing. “Ignore the random girl jumping over your fence to rescue a baby duck from your pool FYI!” Chantel wrote on a Reddit page explaining the story of how she came to adopt Petunia, an abandoned duckling that desperately needed her help. After nursing her passion for helping ducks escape drowning and worse fates, Chantel ended up stepping in in a big way last year, when she noticed that a Muscovy duck egg was the only one left out of an entire pack. Due to a disturbance or a threat of danger nearby, the mama duck and her hatched babies had fled, leaving the poor, unhatched runt of the litter alone to fend for herself.
Luckily, Chantel was there. When the duckling finally hatched, Chantel called up a nearby wildlife center to see what they could do. Unfortunately, the news wasn’t great. The duckling was part of an invasive species, which meant that the shelter would have to euthanize her rather than try to find a new habitat for her.
Chantel didn’t give up. Instead of handing the duckling over, she decided to raise it herself. The duck was dubbed Petunia, and she’s been a joy to the Grant household ever since. Petunia loves cuddling, running around the house, and taking long baths every day. She’s serious about hygiene!
The best part? Petunia might actually believe she’s a dog. While Chantel sometimes takes Petunia to work (where she’s perfectly well-behaved,) she often has to leave her at home during the day. But when Petunia sees her rescue mom come through the door, she’s too happy for words. She starts wagging her tail and quacking with joy knowing that mom has come home safe. Whether or not Petunia knows she’s a duck remains unclear. What’s abundantly clear to us, however, is that Petunia is head over heels in love with her new home and couldn’t be happier to be living with the Grant family. The duck’s journey from abandonment to sheer contentment has already taken the world by storm. When Chantel put up a video of Petunia’s greeting, the Internet responded with pure happiness.
“Yes, Reddit is going to need more pics of your duck,” wrote one user.
“Send duck pics,” wrote another.
Meanwhile, the viral star is still living her life just as humbly as ever. Though with a room of her own, replete with a private bath and princess castle, “humble” might not exactly be the word.
