After losing all his siblings, Olaf the duck has formed a beautiful friendship with a Newfoundland puppy named Sven.
During the 2020 lockdown, the duck and his brothers and sisters were taken in by an Oklahoma farm-owning family as ducklings, living together happily for a period before the worst happened. Since it was March and still cold at night, the baby ducklings first lived in the house while they grew their feathers.
“They actually lived in my husband’s office for almost a month before we moved them outside, Jessie Vallier, 35, told The Epoch Times, explaining how the young birds stayed in the coop at night with the chickens, moving outside during the day.
“Everything is fenced off and very protected,” she said, “so, we’re pretty sure what happened is there’s just a weak spot that a coyote found, and they literally just got swiped—every one except Olaf, left on his own.”
Around the same time that the couple agreed to adopt the 3-week-old ducklings, a 5-month-old puppy up in Nebraska had come onto their radar; his owners were struggling during the pandemic. So the Vallier family brought Sven to live at their farm in Broken Arrow.
“We never really say no to a rescue animal,” said Mrs. Vallier, a horse trainer and riding instructor.
Two or three weeks later, Olaf lost his siblings, and before Mrs. Vallier and her husband could figure out what to do, the little duck ended up bonding with Sven. He really started showing an interest in the big pup. Slowly, the little duck began following Sven—the “big brown teddy bear”—and soon, they became buddies.
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Mrs. Vallier believes the breakout moment came when she discovered the pair in the kiddie pool together one day.
“Sven’s lying in the pool, and Olaf is in there with him. I feel like from then on out, Olaf was like ‘Oh, you love water; we’re the same, we’re friends.’ And honestly, after that moment, the two were best friends,” she said.
Still, both have very different personalities, says Mrs. Vallier.
The Rouen duck is “very bossy and opinionated.” Olaf runs the farm.
“If he’s worried about a chicken or even a dog, he’ll chase the danger away from them. He’s just like this little mighty duck that feels he needs to take care of everybody,” she said.
Sven, meanwhile, is described as “just a big lug; so sweet and very mellow.” He’s great with the kids and equally great with the animals.
“He’s never been very hyper,” his owner said. “He'll get spurts of energy where he runs around and after two little circles, he’s tired and wants to go lay down.”
The bond the dog and the duck share shows itself in endearing ways. Olaf is protective of his friend and will put his head down, trying to shoo people away from the gentle giant. He also grooms the dog constantly.
“It looks like he’s just pecking at him all the time,” Mrs. Vallier said. “But he'll sit and just rustle his bill through Sven’s fur. Sven drools a lot, and Olaf likes to clean Sven’s mouth. He sticks his whole bill in Sven’s cheeks, and it looks like he’s brushing his teeth.”
The happy pair have also been known to play catch and enjoy a little rough and tumble.
“We'd throw a ball for Sven, and the duck would chase after the ball with him. And if they get into a wrestling match, Sven will get up and run, and the duck will fly after him,” their owner said.
Now both 4 years old, the two friends have never had a cross word.
“They’re very decent with each other. If Olaf nibbles too hard, Sven will turn his nose and kind of push him off. But there’s never been any aggression.”
Mr. and Mrs. Vallier say that although they know birds will imprint on different creatures, they’ve never seen anything like it before themselves. Sven and Olaf’s friendship has lasted four years, and it’s brought them a great deal of joy.
“It’s just a very special friendship and a real honor that we’re getting to be a part of it,” she said.
