Sammy the duck works at old people's home

Sammy doesn’t swim. He’s not a flier. He doesn’t even really quack. The most ducklike thing about Sammy is his waddle. It’s a whole body effort. He thrusts his long neck up and forward, using the momentum to scoot his webbed feet through the halls of Cypress Palms and into the activity room for bingo.



When Sammy waddles in, the white-haired competitors look away from their bingo boards and greet the 8-pound visitor.

Sammy has worked at the Cypress Palms campus of the Palms of Largo assisted living community for a year, since Diane Anheier, 59, a nurse, found him next to the barn where she boards her horse.

Sammy and Diane work double shifts on the weekends and a regular shift every other Wednesday.