Michigan Duck Rescue and Sanctuary, 111 S. Lafayette Unit 284, South Lyon, MI (2026)

06/19/2026

First, I’d like to say we’re sure glad Mike is on our team, I can’t think of a better cleanup hitter to have. He always seems to be there in the clutch!

A few of his recent rescues had him in Manitou Beach, Wayne, and Flint, among a number of places in between.

In Manitou Beach, he rescued a dumped domestic Brown Chinese Goose that was first seen in early May, and for almost the entire month, the poor angel was constantly circling the lake calling out for a friend he probably used to have, but was no longer there. Mike made the trip and eventually chased him down and brought him back to the sanctuary, where he now has many companions.

Another stop was Wayne, where we got a call about a domestic Rouen female duck that had been living under a semi truck for about five days. The finder said she never seemed to leave the protection of the truck and was living on a concrete drive. I don’t know what she could’ve possibly been eating, as it was mostly cement around the entire area. To the trolls out there, this is not a Mallard, it is a domestic duck that is 2 to 3 times the size of a wild Mallard. This is often a reason they go so long in the wild before being rescued, because they are often mistaken for a wild Mallard.

The third rescue in this trilogy was a call from a guy in Flint about three dumped domestic Pekin Ducks that were spotted near the shore of a local river. They would often come up to the park area and hang out during the day. Now they will no longer have to fend for themselves.

Mike wasted very little time getting out to all three rescues and bringing them all safely home to the sanctuary, where they will have a nice safe and secure life with all the proper food and fresh water they could possibly ever need.

Please consider volunteering in some way with our sanctuary. We truly need the help, and the favorable impact it will have on you you, will last you a lifetime!

PAYPAL
http://www.michiganduckrescueandsanctuary.com/donate/

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3300998449725440369&created=1722191585.337092&printed=1

Zelle: 248-446-2021

Cash App: $lyson

06/14/2026

This rescue that took place late afternoon into early evening yesterday, by total strangers to us at the time, is exactly why Michigan Duck Rescue and Sanctuary exist today.

This Angel would have had nowhere to go. The girls tried many places until they came across us, and their search stopped.

An awesome rescue by team of girls whose day and life experience changed forever, because they took action! They didn’t call for help in the beginning, they WERE the help!

Five wonderful girls, Morgan, MaKenna, Jessica, Karmen, and Kristina, we’re just floating down the Huron River in Flat Rock, something they do occasionally throughout the summer, when something unexpected caught Morgan’s eye. She noticed it looked to possibly be a deceased Goose, but she wanted to get a closer look just to be sure. The domestic Toulouse Goose lay dormant, a few feet from the rivers edge, on dry land.

Upon very close inspection, she noticed it had the slightest breath of life remaining in its dying body. She and the other girls started to get very concerned as to what to do next, so they started making calls as they wrapped the listless body in a beach towel and secured her.

Then they met their biggest obstacle, a young, absolute idiot, about their age, that refused to let them come up from the river’s shore and cross his property, most likely his mommy and daddy’s property, to take the Angel up to the road to get a ride. He yelled down and told them to get off of his property from above, and they weren’t even on his property when they were at the water. They even told this obstinate little heartless punk what they were doing, and that they had this Goose that needed help, and he said he knew, but didn’t care. Thank you Morgan, for giving him a piece of your mind.

The young ladies then loaded everything up into their kayaks and tubes, including themselves and the little Angel struggling to survive, in search for another path to a road, so they could Uber themselves back in either direction, to one of their cars, to continue their quest to save this innocent life.

They made their way a little further down the slow moving current, even with the help of a couple of kayakers who helped pull one of the tubes with the resting angel inside. In the meantime, they were setting up transport, all while maneuvering down the river.

Well, they finally reached shore, connected with transport, and Caleigh brought the traumatized soul all the way to the Sanctuary and delivered her at 8:30 PM, where an oxygen tent and heat lamp were set up and waiting. The warmth from their towel and the comfort from the ride home, seemed to give her a little stronger will to live. Thanks also to Kari of Serenity‘s Place Rehab for helping to coordinate the Transport!

This was one of the most exceptional rescues we’ve had in quite some time, and MDRS was hardly involved. It was exceptional because five determine ladies found an unexpected purpose appear before them out of nowhere, and what they did on their own was truly remarkable.

How this sweet angel of a goose made her way there is unknown, but fortunately for her, timing was everything. Wonder if she had friends that she could have possibly been dumped with. Wonder why she would’ve been dumped at all. A messed up world we live in, when the animals that depend on us for protection and care, after being brought into this world by us, are tossed by us like garbage.

This is what rescuing is all about, not waiting for help, but being the help. No one starts anything from an experienced perspective. Just like we knew nothing when we began, neither did they, but look what they did when it was their time to step up and shine. Future leaders In the making!

Hopefully this will inspire the next group of rescuers!

“It is better to lead from behind, than to follow!”

Your support, in so many ways, keeps us moving forward, and saving all that we can! Thank you!

PAYPAL
http://www.michiganduckrescueandsanctuary.com/donate/

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3300998449725440369&created=1722191585.337092&printed=1

Zelle: 248-446-2021

Cash App: $lyson

06/12/2026

We were made aware of four very juvenile domestic ducks that were sitting on the shore of Allen Lake in Cambridge Township. This is about an hour south of the Sanctuary.

Kelly was enjoying the day with her husband, Daniel and their daughter Lucy, when they noticed some ducks that looked completely out of place. She had sent me a text message with a picture and I told her they were without question, recently dumped, and needed to be rescued. She and her family were going to attempt to surround them and gather them up, while I loaded up the car and made my way to the location. Mike was actually going to be passing not too far from the area around the same time as me, so we were pretty confident they should be a fairly easy rescue.

But of course, no rescue can be guaranteed to be easy, even with these sweet little angels who don’t move too quickly, and were only slightly apprehensive to begin with. Mike had beaten me there by maybe 20 minutes or so, and had already been in the marshy section of the water, as the little angels avoided capture from Kelly’s clan.

This was definitely going to be a rescue that needed kayaks, and we were so fortunate that Daniel and Kelly lived only on a short distance away. As I pulled up, Daniel took a quick ride back home to pick up a couple of kayaks. We could not have done this rescue without them or the kayaks.

After they returned, Daniel and I each grabbed a kayak and made our way around the treed corner, and into the marsh. Ever eager Mike had already put on his wadders and made his way through the marsh and located the four little rascals. Since the water was around knee-high or so, I was able to kick off my shoes to go into the marsh to assist, while Daniel joined me. Within a very short time, we had all four babies, and they really were just babies, maybe a month and a half old, with all their fluff still visible.

We all made our way back to shore, where everybody was made comfortable for the return drive to the Sanctuary.

Another truly team effort saved four starving. dumped domestic babies. Even though they looked sweet and comfortable lying there on the shore with their legs kicked back, they had no proper food, and zero protect protection from any predator whatsoever. They could not stay in the water all night, and if they went out of shore, there were no doubt he picked off within a matter of days.

Domestic ducks do not belong in the wild, wild ducks do!. Domestic ducks belong in a secured place in your home, with proper food, proper protection, and proper veterinary care. Do please, if you cannot provide that, don’t buy a pet duck or any other pet for that matter. It’s really not that hard to say no.

So another big thank you to Daniel and Kelly, and of course, little Lucy… and as always, Mike, for a wonderful and successful rescue!

PAYPAL
http://www.michiganduckrescueandsanctuary.com/donate/

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3300998449725440369&created=1722191585.337092&printed=1

Zelle: 248-446-2021

Cash App: $lyson

06/07/2026

The bittersweet known, and the very often unknown backstory of the everyday rescues that we do here at Michigan Duck Rescue and Sanctuary.

Often when we rescue, and we are successful in catching dumped ducks, most people assume that’s all they were. But in the reality of what we do, we never know. For instance, when we rescue one lone domestic duck that was undoubtedly dumped in a location that it could never have otherwise gotten into without the ignorant or evil intent of a human, we almost always have to assume that the duck had a companion duck at some point. Stores are not often known to sell one single duck. So the probability is high that the companion duck perished at some time prior to the rescue. We can make a further assumption that there could’ve been even more ducks as well that perished, because many of the stores often regulate selling four or more ducks during a purchase, because they are companion animals. A very recent rescue will shed light on this reality.

Within the past two weeks, we received a call from Amanda, and a snippet of a post about several domestic ducks, and a domestic goose that had been walking up and down a roadside in Lambertville on a two-lane road, where traffic speed was posted at 45 mph.

They had been hanging out in the sometimes wet culverts on both sides of the road, for at least a couple of weeks, meaning they had to cross this road several times and avoid traffic each time.

Apparently, about a week before we received the information, one of the adult male domestic Rouen ducks had been hit and killed, as it was seen several times with its friends standing over it or very nearby. Ducks cannot comprehend why their friend no longer stands beside them, nor travels with them, but they wait anyways.

When I received the information from Amanda after 9 PM the night before the rescue that was going to take place the following morning, there were three more male domestic Rouen Ducks, one female Rouen Duck, and what appears to be a handsome Brown Chinese domestic goose.

A quick bit of side note information, a domestic Rouen duck looks very similar to a mallard duck in the wild. The difference is, a Rouen weighs easily 2 to 4+ times more than a Mallard. Their colors are often a little more pronounced on the males, and they are often overlooked from being dumped simply because people don’t realize they are actually domestic.

When i arrived just about noon the next morning, just a few miles from the Toledo border, and not much more than after 12 hours after my being informed, I was met by the finder Amanda, and Mike, who got there a few minutes before me, and who had other business down in Ohio afterwards.

Sadly, another male Rouen had been slaughtered in the road by a car during the night. A picture that I felt was not warranted for this post, even though I thought long and hard about it, just to show the reality of what we deal with because of the ignorance and laziness of some of the people that walk among us.

We found the four surviving angels, of the at least six that we know of, hanging out in the front of a yard underneath some shade. After not even five minutes of walking them up to the house, we were able to capture all four and secure them safely for their ride back to the Sanctuary. We did try to get assistance from the owner of the house, but there was no response to our attempts.

Thank you so much to Amanda and those that posted information in order to get the word out, so at least four of these angels could see a better future and fate, than that which had sadly eluded their deceased companions.

A sad reminder… We live and die by donations, and lately we’ve been dying… Any help at all would be greatly appreciated! You would be donating to an organization that helps more domestic ducks and geese, than literally any other organization in the world, that we are aware of, and we have done research, and we are always willing to update that information if someone has controverting evidence, of any other organization that does anything even close to what we do here at MDRS. This is not counting all the other wild and protected waterfowl over the years that we have been able to help, to get help for, in one way or another, to all the licensed facilities in Michigan.

Thank you!

PAYPAL
http://www.michiganduckrescueandsanctuary.com/donate/

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3300998449725440369&created=1722191585.337092&printed=1

Zelle: 248-446-2021

Cash App: $lyson

06/05/2026

Today was Ladies Day here at the Sanctuary! The ladies pen (with a fair number of boys joining them) got their soil turned today, and their pond liner pulled, rinsed and refreshed. Always an exciting day when something from the ordinary changes in a Duck’s life, especially when it’s fresh and clean!

PAYPAL
http://www.michiganduckrescueandsanctuary.com/donate/

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3300998449725440369&created=1722191585.337092&printed=1

Zelle: 248-446-2021

Cash App: $lyson

05/25/2026

John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

To ALL of those incredible individuals who gave of their lives, often by their own choice, and their enduring desire to be a people, free of tyranny and oppression, that we might live FREELY, to pursue our own dreams, as they sacrificed the dreams they would never see come true. I salute you ALL!
God Bless, on this Sacred Memorial Day of Remembrance!

Never a shortage of rooftop rescues this time of year. Three recent ones were an office building in Birmingham, Beaumont Hospital, and Suburban Cadillac of Plymouth.

All thanks to concerned individuals who saw helpless angels trapped on balconies or rooftops, with no way of getting back down to mom and dad. Mama and Papa geese pacing frantically in all cases, going up to anyone nearby that could possibly help.

First was Beaumont, where staff, patients and their families were very concerned about the four babies, trapped on a narrow ledge of the balcony with no way off without human intervention. It had been five days that they had been there until help was finally summoned. Theresa and I took that trip out to Royal Oak on a call from Bonnie, one of the security guards there, and after a bit of back-and-forth, we were finally able to get access and remove them from their confined area, and we’re able to put three of them back with mom and dad. The fourth one was so dehydrated, he had to go to our friend Carolyn, a licensed facility in Holt.

The second one, the angels are trapped on the third story of a building in downtown Birmingham, with no access through the attic. It was with the help of the very wonderful Birmingham Fire Department, that these babies were able to get rescued in plenty of time to be reunited and relocated with mom at a local park just a half a mile away. Since dad was not around at the time, we sincerely believe she was put in a location where she would definitely run into her Beau shortly thereafter. There was no possibility she would be put down on the ground below her nest, as it was in the heart of Birmingham, and there was no grass nor water anywhere. This was the only option. Mike was able to handle this one, and he also got to fulfill his lifelong dream of getting go up on a fire ladder, minus the plastic Texaco fireman cap.

The third, in the same number of days, was the call we received from Alan at Suburban Cadillac in Plymouth. Mom and dad were flying up and down from the building to the ground continuously seeking assistance. Alan was able to get me to the rooftop where I collected the babies and had him wait on top of the building with the mom, so as not to lose sight of her. As I left the building from the main floor onto the side road, mom was all too eager the fly down the minute she saw the babies. This was probably the most touching of the three episodes, as the babies slowly made the way to mom. Out of nowhere, dad came flying over the building and landed about 50 feet away in the parking lot,
And once he felt the coast was clear, then he started the weave and head Bob toward mom, and eventually all the angels were together as they should be. They even came back a few days later to tell Alan thanks, and he was able to get a nice family portrait of them, still together. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing families reunited, and the body movements of the geese say all that needs to be said. Thanks to everyone that showed a caring heart!

PAYPAL
http://www.michiganduckrescueandsanctuary.com/donate/

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3300998449725440369&created=1722191585.337092&printed=1

Zelle: 248-446-2021

Cash App: $lyson

05/17/2026

I’m beginning to think there are three classifications for the ‘finder of injured animals individuals’.

Those who observe, those who are reactionary, and those who take action.

The observer sees the situation, might think something needs help, and may or may not help in the most minimal of ways. Making a post or comment, requesting help, but nothing more, no further information, no further response.

This absolutely drives the rest of us crazy. We waste so much valuable time seeking the much needed information, often to no avail, and the animal usually never gets to help it needs, and suffers as a consequence of inaction. In these instances, you almost wish you never knew the animal was out there, because the pain of not being able to help lingers on.

Next the reactionary individual, this is the individual that is determined to find help one way or the other, not necessarily helping directly, possibly from fear or inexperience of the situation, but seeks help diligently, to the very best of their ability. In these cases, persistence is much more likely to pay off than not. They will try every resource available to them. They may be uncomfortable in taking immediate action themselves, but they do seek out people that are possibly a little more experienced. These people are a huge asset to the rescue organizations.

Thirdly, is the person of action. They encompass all three traits, they observe, their reaction is to seek help, and either follow the guidance of someone they contact, or willing to go it alone. They will walk through the process you suggest, or do what they think is best if no one is there to guide them, and then reach out for help after the fact.

This group of individuals truly deserve respect for getting involved in a situation thrown in their laps on the spur of the moment, with very little, or no experience whatsoever. They observe that time is of the essence, and that their being there at that moment, was purposeful. These are the people that make the lives of rescuers much easier, and Lord knows, we could all use more help in this world. And the feeling they get after helping is often described as incredible. To be there and help something that would otherwise perish or give up, is a feeling that you never forget. It’s also great, because they share that story, and often more people are prone to get involved along the way.

Such was the case just a few days ago when I got a call from Mary, who was very concerned about a female wood duck that kept coming toward her on her walk. She came in such a distressed way, that she seemed to seek help, much like the late, great Lassie, and since she had nowhere else to turn, she picked Mary.

Mary called us and explained the unusual behavior of the female Wood Duck, who was constantly calling for anyone that was within the ears reach of her distressed coo. Mary thought this was very unusual, but she wasn’t quite sure what to do, because it was so out of the ordinary. When I first spoke to Mary and heard what she described, I asked if there was a sewer nearby, perhaps the woody’s babies fell in there. Mary told me no, and that she was up closer to a house, and the Woody girl was very fidgety. I immediately asked for a video to see if I could determine from her description what might be the case. The minute I saw the video, and where the beautiful little angel was standing, I assumed right away that she had babies in a window well.

Mary took no time to see for herself, and she was completely and utterly surprised of what she saw 11 little babies in a window well that they could never have gotten out of, and mom was determined that her year long wait to procreate, would not be in vain.

I suggested to Mary to immediately get a bucket and go into to the well, round them up, and hope that mom would stick around long enough to be reunited. She hurriedly contacted her husband Eric, who rushed down the street to a construction site, and grabbed an empty bucket and made it back in a flash. The babies were all removed. Mama accepted them all and disappeared under shrubbery, without so much as a thank you. But we all knew she was extremely grateful!

Mary and Eric went to the extreme, and in doing so, 11 little angels survived what would have resulted in a devastating loss for a determined mother. Her year long quest had succeeded. From that point on, they are God’s hands, and for us, that is the happiest of endings!

Thank you so much to Mary and Eric for not missing a beat in their short adventure to save 11 sweet little lives. After which, Mary was absolutely overwhelmed with the feeling of what she had just accomplished in a matter of 30 unplanned minutes of her life.

We never know why God puts us in the places he does, at a given time, but I can guarantee there is always some reason. Sometimes it stares us in the face and we miss the obvious, sometimes it just passes by. But when we realize it, it’s an incredible feeling.

We don’t really do fundraisers like many organizations, hopefully soon in the future on our new horizon we might, but we post our donation sites after each post, so just maybe someone is touched enough by a story that they share a little bit of their good fortune, to help all of our angels in need. And to those that do, we thank you with all of our hearts.

PAYPAL
http://www.michiganduckrescueandsanctuary.com/donate/

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3300998449725440369&created=1722191585.337092&printed=1

Zelle: 248-446-2021

Cash App: $lyson

05/14/2026

Phyllis was visiting a friend not too far from the Gratiot State Game Area in Perrinton, when out of the corner of eye, she saw the whiteness of a duck, swimming in a standing water area, off the side of a dirt road in the middle of BFM (leave that to your imagination…M=michigan, not Egypt). Because Phyllis had Ducks in the past, she was able to recognize the object. Sort of like when you never see a particular car on the road until you buy it, then every other car is the same as the car you bought.

Phyllis made us aware in the afternoon of the first, and on the second, Theresa, Mike and myself headed out for the just under two hour trip. Phyllis would meet us there, along with Jen and Jae from Wanderlust Acres (we were picking up a few ducks from them to lighten their load a bit. We were also going to meet Lisa, Brice and Amber, as we were picking up a handicapped duck from them, as well. Surprisingly, everyone found each other on the desolate road in the middle of Nowhere, MI.

Since I have usually been the weakest link in the most recent of rescues, I was able to do what I enjoy most, directing from afar.

As Mike and Theresa made their way into the Michigan swamp land, I tried to keep an eye on the two helpless angels, who had been dumped there, for who knows how long.

Eventually, after Mike and Theresa weaved themselves out of the thicket mess, forcing the angels to come up on dry ground, they were eventually snagged, and then placed in their carrier for the ride back to the sanctuary. When all was said and done, I think we headed back home with nine newly acquired angels.

Thanks to everyone who played even a minor part in distracting the Angels during their capture, and especially thanks to Phyllis, for bringing this to our attention. They would not have fared well for long where they were dumped. And to the person who dumped them, may your karma be swift and unjust!!

PAYPAL
http://www.michiganduckrescueandsanctuary.com/donate/

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3300998449725440369&created=1722191585.337092&printed=1

Zelle: 248-446-2021

Cash App: $lyson

05/05/2026

Guess who’s getting BIG? Our sweet little very special needs domestic goose angel that we took in just a handful of weeks ago! We still haven’t settled on a special name for him yet, but we will soon!!

When he came to us just a day old, he was barely 80 grams (right around three ozs.). After about a week of hand feeding him many times throughout the day, he started eating on his own, and boy can he eat!

He weighs in now at just over a whopping pound and a half! Keep growing sweet baby!!l

PAYPAL
http://www.michiganduckrescueandsanctuary.com/donate/

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3300998449725440369&created=1722191585.337092&printed=1

Zelle: 248-446-2021

Cash App: $lyson

04/25/2026

In the world of rescue, things are far from perfect, and when things do go sideways, they often don’t go sideways alone. Quite often it’s a chain of events, not necessarily related to one another. Some people can describe it as Murphy’s Law.

Such was the case a few months back, when the ponds were still covered with large portions of ice, and the weather was often in the teens or lower, for long periods of time.

I had to do an emergency corn run to keep a bunch of bellies full. I had taken a trip out to Saline to load up a dump trailer with about 9000 pounds of corn. On my return, not even 2 miles out, the wheels on each side of my tandem trailer were rubbing in opposite directions and smoke was bellowing from the rear. As I pulled over onto the nearest side street, I did a quick inspection of the trailer and found that a leaf spring snapped on one side of the trailer, rendering the unit far from usable.

At exactly the same time, I received a call from a gentleman named Aaron, who informed me that there was a sandhill crane off the back of his property that was literally becoming an ice sculpture. He called everyone he could think of, and no one would respond or help. After he sent me some pictures, and I knew my current troubles were not the worst of the day.

I had called Mike first, because I knew he was at the Sanctuary helping Theresa with some barn cleaning, and I knew he would be able to take the almost 30 minute ride due west, near the strawberry lake area in Pinckney, to assist.

Shortly after Mike arrived, and after a few dips under the polar ice cap, Mike managed to wrangle Frosty into a secure carrier. After which, he was taken to Wildside Rehabilitation in Eaton Rapids, one of the handful of licensed facilities we work with that handle protected waterfowl, and where Louise and Co. do a wonderful job caring for numerous exotic waterfowl, among other beautiful creatures.

Fortunately, for this little guy, there were no life-threatening injuries, and he just needed a whole lot of time to warm up and be evaluated. After a short stay at the resort, he was taken back to his flock on Strawberry Lake, but the story was far from over.

The day after Frosty’s release, Aaron contacted Mike again to let him know Frosty had another little buildup of ice. Mike made his way out to the frozen lake again, and while chasing Frosty a little further down the lake then last time, he noticed yet another Crane in need of thawing. After Frosty was resecured, Mike went back to get the other ice Angel.

After another round of deicing, both cranes were released back with their flocks, where they continued to do well for the remainder of the winter.

A sad reminder of the harshness that Michigan Winters can have on all of our wonderful animals, wild and domestic!

And oh yeah, I did end up getting my trailer towed back to the Sanctuary, where new leaf springs had to be installed, once the trailer was empty again.

Thanks again to all involved, especially Mike, who traversed a very tricky frozen tundra, in a very successful rescue!

PAYPAL
http://www.michiganduckrescueandsanctuary.com/donate/

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3300998449725440369&created=1722191585.337092&printed=1

Zelle: 248-446-2021

Cash App: $lyson

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