Before you get any bold ideas, let us just warn you that security at the Pump N Pantry in New Milford, Pennsylvania is tight.
And tomfoolery will not be tolerated – even if you’re a duck.
Four local ducks learned this the hard way when they were clearly in the mood to celebrate some newfound freedom.
They had made their way out of their home in Cindy Osiecki’s backyard creek and waddling about a mile up the road to the market.
Of course, seeing the ducks made some customers happy – and they were willing to give them a snack (meaning the ducks weren’t about to leave any time soon). Others felt that loitering laws should apply to everyone…and everything.
So of course someone called the cops.
An employee named Kat, who was just showing up for work that day when the ducks were enjoying their last moments of freedom, told The Dodo that they “weren’t doing anything bad.”
In fact, things got pretty amusing when the quartet resisted arrest after officers arrived on the scene.
“They were being chased by one of the police officers. They were chasing them around the car. I thought it was pretty funny, to be honest,” she said.
Eventually, the ducks decided that they’d cut the officers a break before those guys ran out of breath, so they took their punishment.
They filed into the cop car with no injuries – although they took the opportunity to instigate a little more drama when they momentarily changed their minds.
After an officer’s intervention, they agreed to come peacefully.
Kind of.
“Officer Sheehan had to place them in car. Getting them out was not fun either,” the department reported on Facebook.
Alas, it’s not the first nor the last time a non-human has been in the back of one of their patrol cars.
Cindy Osiecki said it was a 4th of July phone call she’ll never forget.
“I thought it was funny, I’m like ‘are you serious?’ There were like ‘yeah we took them’ because I guess people were trying to take my ducks, and everyone was feeding them, even the cop fed them bread,” she told WNEP News.
Apparently, the town is small enough that people knew who the ducks belonged to. Still, Osiecki was just surprised that they decided to wander so far:
“…that was the first time that I ever saw they went up to the Pump and Pantry because normally they go to my neighbors,” she said.
Then again, we all know things get wild on the 4th of July, and not every creature makes the best life choices, so maybe we can cut them a little slack.
Osiecki got the ducks back and they were swimming happily in their home pond the same day.
“I was just so thankful they found my ducks and they took them in to be safe,” she said.
And it must have been a really slow night for actual crime in Susquehanna County that day because the Great Bend Police Department joked that they even considered taking the ducks’ “fingerprints.”
Now that the ducks are local celebrities, it appears Osiecki’s daughter Savannah thinks a lot more highly of them:
“Our ducks are famous and they’re cool and they’re awesome,” the girl told WNEP.
The police department got a few laughs after posting the photos of the ducks being arrested on Facebook.
The puns in the comments were endless:
“These jail birds need a quack lawyer who speciawises in cases involving fowl play… and good work Officer Sheehan for quacking the case so quikwie. 👍 I’m guessing AFLAC is behind this whole web of confusion. 🤓” said one man.
We’re just glad the ducks are safe and happily quacking safely at home.
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