Dog adopts abandoned duckling after mother is killed by fox

A little duckling has found an unusual foster parent after its mother was killed by a fox. Dennis the duckling was found abandoned next to a brook in Mountfitchet Castle, in Stansted, Essex, when the site owners were out for a walk.

Worries about how Dennis would keep warm and clean on a cold day were soon dispelled when 4-year-old Fred the Labrador took over and licked him him clean, sending the orphaned duckling into a contented sleep snuggled up against him, said castle owner Jeremy Goldsmith.


Photos from SWNS.

He said the pair has been inseparable ever since. Mr Goldsmith said: "Fred grew up with all our animals and has such a loving nature that he always fathers any orphans, he even took over looking after Lupin, a Fallow deer, when she was tiny."

Dennis will now join the rest of the animals that already live at the historic castle where they all enjoy being hand fed by visitors.