LUBBOCK, Texas — After a two day mission to save ducks from a storm drain, Lubbock Fire and Rescue finally set them free on Tuesday.
Stephanie Long and her son Colton said they saw these ducks for the first time at Hoel Park, off 91st St. and Chicago Ave. right after Easter. They believed the ducks may have been an Easter gift somebody did not want anymore.
“We took it upon ourselves to feed them twice a day,” Stephanie Long said.
However, on Monday during their daily routine of picking up trash and feeding the ducks, they said they noticed the ducks got stuck in a storm drain.
“The baby brown duck was all alone,” said Colton Long, who worried about the duck’s safety.
They called Lubbock Fire and Rescue to help retrieve the ducks out of the storm drain. They attempted saving the ducks in multiple ways, but their attempts failed since the ducks retreated into a pipe in the storm drain, Stephanie Long said.
However, they said they could not give up.
“We are animal lovers so we can’t let it go,” Long said. “It teaches my son that we have to care for all animals because sometimes they can’t care for themselves.”
On Tuesday, LFR was finally able to free the ducks by blocking the pipe and lifting them out of the storm drain with a net.
“I am elated,” Stephanie Long said. “It is the best feeling in the world.”
The Long family said they found a home for the ducks on a farm in Levelland.
Steve Holland, a spokesperson for LFR, said they will not be able to put extra protections on the storm drain because when it floods, it could cause trash to back the drain up.
According to LFR, this is the first time they have responded to a call of this kind. LFR theorizes the domesticated ducks most likely got stuck because they are not used to the wild.
