Fluff redux

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Two years ago, a mother mallard duck built her nest in a flower pot on Division St. in front of the Storlie Building. The march to the Cannon River after hatching (left photo) enthralled downtowners. I told the story here. (That blog post has historical significance, too, the famous ‘fluff’ post that led to… well, that’s another story.)

This year, another mother mallard (center and right photos) has her nest under the picnic table at the James Gang Coffeehouse and Eatery on S. Hwy 3. Alert me via a phone call or Twitter if you see the brood on the move.

14 Comments

  1. Nick Benson said:

    This is nonsense! From now on, I’ll be getting my news elsewhere.

    Kidding, of course… stick it to the man Griff!

    May 9, 2007
  2. Curt Benson said:

    Griff, I know how important it is for you to be on the bleeding edge of trivial animal related investigative journalism, so it is with sadness that I have to reveal to you that you’ve been scooped. (note to John George: feel free to comment with a “pooper scooped” related remark.)

    Both the Northfield News and Patch had stories about this “Not-So-Incredible Journey” (heh). Here’s the synopsis. Two dogs from Dundas ambled a mile from one place in Dundas to– you guessed it–another place in Dundas. Perhaps you are wondering if the owner was sick with worry during this ordeal Not-to-worry, the owner wasn’t aware of it until it was over. That is the story. Yes, that is the whole story. Another “pullet-zer” prize contender?

    http://northfieldnews.com/content/dundas-dogs-run-pet-food-outlet

    March 10, 2012
  3. Griff Wigley said:

    Sonsabitches! (That’s a pun that John George is not likely to use.)

    Curt, I don’t see the Patch story but I notice you posted a comment on the Nfld News article:

    Yesterday, my dog barked excitedly when a stranger knocked on my door. I am available for interviews and photographs, you know where to find me.

    March 10, 2012
  4. I can’t speak for the paper (clearly), but I ran it as an announcement because the folks from Chuck and Don’s (corporate, not Dundas) emailed it to me. I do the same when I get emails from the schools, churches and other groups. It is what it is and it is. It’s a cute, light piece of user-generated content that clearly people got a kick out of—the two-paragraph post has 35 Facebook recommendations.

    Patch isn’t the official paper of record; we’re here to bring a little bit of everything to reflect what the community is interested in and, at times, that includes pointing folks to other good sources of information in this city, like the News, Locally Grown, Northfield.org, etc. We’re OK with going “soft” from time-to-time.

    After all, if we can’t poke fun at each other once in awhile, what do we have?

    Griff, that reminds me, have you seen any mallards yet this March? 🙂

    March 10, 2012
  5. Griff Wigley said:

    Oh fer cute!

    I can’t imagine sending a reporter and TV truck all the way from the Twin Cities for that story but then again, that’s why I don’t watch the 10 pm news.

    March 10, 2012
  6. Curt Benson said:

    Corey, this is the “most read” story on KSTP. “Now they have a story to tell their grandpuppies”. Wow.

    March 10, 2012
  7. Kathie Galotti said:

    I was SOOOOOO hoping to see video of that dog…..

    March 10, 2012
  8. Sandy Vesledahl said:

    I happen to have enjoyed the story of Gracie and Coco both on Patch and on KSTP. Even though these dogs were found only a mile from home, who knows how far they actually traveled?. They also had to cross a very busy highway as well to end up where they did. As someone who spends every day at Prairie’s Edge Humane Society seeing animals who have been lost and never reunited with their owners it is wonderful to see a happy ending to this story as it could have turned out much different and unfortunately most of these stories do. And as an added bonus Gracie and Coco each put a donation (via their owner) into the donation bank for Prairie’s Edge Humane Society while they were at Chuck & Don’s. Thank you Gracie and Coco, the homeless animals appreciate your donation and I enjoyed your “fluff” story!

    March 12, 2012
  9. Kathy Jasnoch said:

    As someone who works in the field of animal welfare and rescue, I found the story of the journey to Chuck and Don’s very heartwarming. I would hope that if my own dogs got away from me they would get to a place where people care about animals. I have a bumper sticker on my car from the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary which reads : ” Kindness to Animals Builds a Better World for all of us”. Not to overthink this, but I see too many animal stories without a happy ending and too many news stories that leave me feeling sad. And, of course, the owners of Coco and Gracie donated to Prairies Edge Humane Society in our collection jar at Chuck and Don’s, so we appreciate the support of everyone in our community, animal lovers and otherwise, who recognize the value of animals and support our work on their behalf. Kathy Jasnoch, Dog lover and Director of Prairies Edge Humane Society.

    March 12, 2012
  10. Curt Benson said:

    Sandy and Kathy, I seem to be in a minority as to whether the brief lostness of these dogs is newsworthy.

    My wife was listening to “Coast to Coast” with Ian Punnett on her way home from work last night. Punnett is a twin cities radio show host who does the weekend shift on the nationally syndicated “Coast to Coast” show. That show most typically deals in news such as chupacabra and big foot sightings. Ian talked about the wayfaring dogs, saying that he is friends of the guys who did the piece for KSTP. So these dogs have gone nationwide! (Also, 300+ likes on KSTP’s facebook.)

    Anyway, a tip of the cap to the person at Chuck and Don’s who parlayed this into big publicity.

    March 12, 2012
  11. john george said:

    Curt & Griff- Sorry, but I am going to have to duck the urge to pun on this subject. Just don’t want to stick out my neck. And, yes, Griff, I won’t use your pun!

    March 12, 2012

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