QUACK_II_DSCN2168_10644863.JPG

Quack II and Cuddle Duck enjoy their new home at Quack's Corner in Bridgeton after being saved by founder Carol Kirshenbaum. (Staff Photo by Don E. Woods/South Jersey Times)

Quack II was saved after being hit by a car in Upper Deerfield and taken in by Quack's Corner founder Carol Kirshenbaum. (Staff Photo by Don E. Woods/South Jersey Times)

BRIDGETON — It's a tale as old as time: One of true love between two ducks.

Quack II and Cuddle Duck — two residents at Quack’s Corner in Bridgeton — have been inseparable since first meeting two weeks ago.

“The minute she took a look at him and he came out of the carrier fireworks exploded,” said Carol Kirshenbaum, founder and president of Quack’s Corner, a non-profit animal rescue group.

Kirshenbaum took in Quack II a month ago, when the duck was found on the side of the road in Upper Deerfield Township.

Quack II appeared to have been hit by a car, with a broken beak and blood in her feathers. A second duck, which Kirshenbaum thinks may have been her mate, was found dead.

The Bridgeton resident took Quack II to Dr. Kevin Ludwig at the Animal Clinic of Millville, where he trimmed the duck’s broken bill.

“She healed up beautifully,” Kirshenbaum said. “He did a beautiful job.”

She named the young Pekin duck after a similar female duck she found in 1988.

The original Quack, as Kirshenbaum refers to her, was found with one eye pecked out and the other damaged. Kirshenbaum took Quack in and the duck quickly became an important symbol at her animal rescue service.

“Ducks are happy,” Kirshenbaum said. “You come home and look at a duck — how can you be miserable?”

Kirshenbaum named her non-profit group after Quack and, even after the duck’s death, Quack lived on through the group.

As soon as she met Quack II, however, Kirshenbaum knew she found a namesake.

“We feel complete now. There was a big piece missing because Quack was only on paper,” Kirshenbaum said.

“Now, we’re really back in business. We have our Quack back.”

Without a mate, though, Kirshenbaum could tell that Quack II was upset.

“You can just tell she was just not as ducky as she should be,” Kirshenbaum said.

Two weeks ago, she found a potential suitor.

Cuddle Duck is a male Pekin/Campbell mix who was also hit by a car.

“He was a thin, dirty duck that somebody threw away but now you see he’s cleaning himself up and he’s doing good,” Kirshenbaum said.

Kirshenbaum named Cuddle Duck after watching the two together and seeing him make a habit out of nestling his beak into Quack II’s feathers.

“Where humans can’t keep their hands off of each other, he can’t keep his beak off of her,” Kirshenbaum said. “He just loves her and she just loves him — and it was instant.”

Now the two ducks are together, with a bond that has even helped Quack II and Cuddle Duck’s health improve after their ordeals and injuries.

“Ducks like to bond,” Kirshenbaum said. “Birds don’t like to be alone, so, it really made a difference.”

Contact staff writer Don E. Woods at 856-451-1000, ext. 518 or dwoods@southjerseymedia.com