Rubber Duck Removed from Dog After Five Years

April 2005

Poor “Apollo” the boxer dog might have been one hungry pup the day he swallowed a rubber duck.  But five years later, his owner has learned to keep ‘duck’ off the menu!  Upon swallowing the toy duck, Apollo was whisked to the vet where his owner, from Ostersund Sweden, was told to allow the rubber duck to come out ‘naturally’.  After years passed and no duck appeared, the owner assumed the toy had dissolved in the boxer’s stomach.  But, when the dog began vomiting and refusing to drink, Apollo the boxer went under the knife to have the rubber duck removed by Swedish vets.  The toy had become black and hard as a rock while inside the dog.  But as a testament to the durability of children’s toys, it was still intact and recognizable as a rubber duck.

Duckfest 2005

Saturday, August 20 2005

Irvine, California saw the largest gathering of rubber duck collectors in history!  Ok, so the grand total was nineteen people, but for this collector craze still in its infancy, that did indeed constitute a record number.  Duckfest 2005, as the August gathering was dubbed, was the third annual meeting of rubber duck collectors from across the United States.  While most attendees hailed from the Southern California area, others came from as far away as Mississippi and New York.

During the event, collectors shared photographs, stories and amusing quirks about themselves and their ducks.  The marketplace spanned the entire patio of the meeting place, creating a veritable ‘sea of yellow’ covering every available surface.  Buying, selling and trading occupied much of the afternoon, with frenzied last-minute purchasing fueled by ‘end-of-the-day’ price slashing.  A silent auction was held for unusual and vintage rubber ducks, with most bids coming in at the last 30 minutes of bidding.  The afternoon also included a contest of rubber duck trivia and skills, pitting collectors against each other in a battle of wits and dexterity with the ultimate victor and runner-up receiving coveted, if dubious, engraved medals and bragging rights.  Trivia questions ranged from novice to expert, and skills challenges included rubber duck stacking, counting and naming Celebriducks. 

Collectors completed their day by chatting over a duck-shaped cake and duck-shaped cookies.  Before parting, the conventioneers vowed to gather again next year for another round of ‘duck-cellent’ fellowship and fun.  Duckfest 2006 is being planned for the Fall of 2006, to be held in Rantoul, Illinois. 

[Information originally reported by the quack investigators at www.duckplanet.com]

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