Ducklings Rescued From Drain, Reunited With Mother Duck: Oswego Police

OSWEGO, IL — Several ducklings were rescued from a drain near Jewel on Orchard Road and later reunited with their mom thanks to an Oswego police officer.

Thursday after Police got a call around 12:30 p.m. reporting the ducklings whereabouts. While dispatch tried contacting the Oswego Public Works Department, Officer Chad Dickey was sent to the area, arriving just a few minutes before crews.

At the time, the mother duck was blocking traffic on Station Drive, Cathy Nevara, the department's spokesperson, told Patch. The family was separated after the mother duck "got spooked" by a hawk and ran away.

Later, the ducklings all huddled together to have their picture taken in the officer's peaked cap. Photos of the rescue were later shared to Facebook where they were met with nearly 200 reactions and a dozen comments.

"Well that's a good use for the hat!!" one person wrote. "Nice job Chad. And congratulations. You are now a duck owner."

"Thank you sir!" another commenter said of Dickey. "You never know what you will do when you get to work! Haha."

But it wasn't long before the ducklings were back with their mom. At about 7:15 p.m., Oswego police posted an update complete with a video showing the family marching next to a building. After finishing his shift, Dickey decided to return to the area near Jewel to see if the mother duck returned, and as fate would have it, she did.

"He was able to get her attention and get her to move to another side of the building, where he turned a box containing the ducklings on it's side," police said. "Mama called and they came waddling out and followed her. One could say she finally has all her ducks in a row."

Locals once again flooded the comment section with gratitude and compliments.

"Officer Dickey, you truly are a good human and a great role model!" one wrote. "Thank you for going above and beyond!"

"I LOVE this!!!" someone else said. "Thank you Officer Dickey!!! You are a gem and an angel in disguise!!"

"This wins the internet today!!" one person commented. "Way to go."