An Iraq War veteran is worried about losing his therapeutic ducks

An army veteran living in Ohio who was wounded during the Iraq War is worried that a recent citation will result in the confiscation of his 14 therapeutic ducks. Darin Welker, of West Lafayette, was cited with a minor misdemeanor June 23 for having the ducks in his yard. He is scheduled to appear in Coshocton Municipal Court for a hearing Wednesday and could face a $150 fine.

“I came back [from Iraq] with a major back injury, and between the back injury and the [post-traumatic stress disorder] that I also brought home, there were numerous problems,” Welker said. He said that he uses the ducks for therapy after being wounded in 2005 in Iraq and that he should be allowed to keep them. The Wednesday hearing will be his opportunity to mention how much help the ducks give him. Welker said he has a letter from the mental health department of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs recommending that he keep the animals.

Welker acquired his ducks in March when they were just days old. He feeds them and takes care of them, which helps him physically, he said, and sometimes he just spends time with them or watches them interact with each other. “Taking care of them is both mental and physical therapy,” he said, adding that just watching them “keeps you entertained for hours at a time.” Welker said he hasn’t worked outside his military service since 2000.

Welker served a year in Iraq with the Army National Guard in 2005 and said he came home with a major back injury that required surgery in 2012. The Department of Veterans Affairs paid for the back surgery but declined to pay for physical therapy recommended by his surgeon and did not provide him with counseling, he said. That’s partly why he has come to rely on the ducks, he said. The 14 ducks live in a penned-in area in Welker’s backyard, which also has kiddie pools so they can swim. Read more about the story here.