CLINTON -- Mindy Isakson finds it disturbing to see a 5-inch-long blow dart lodged in the neck of a female duck splashing about in the Clinton Pond.
While feeding the ducks there Tuesday, Isakson and her 7-year-old son spotted the bird with what appears to be a "dart lodged in its throat."
"We came home and called (Davis County Animal Care and Control). They were very apathetic," Isakson wrote in an email sent Thursday to the Standard-Examiner.
"They said they had already received five calls regarding the same issue, and unfortunately, they are unable to do anything about it.
"I was floored. That is their job, is it not?
"My little 7-year-old could catch (the duck) if he tried -- why can't they?"
Davis County Animal Care and Control Director Clint Thacker said he cannot verify if the department has specifically heard from Isakson.
However, the department has received other calls about the injured duck, he said, and animal control officers have responded.
The department sent officers to the pond Dec. 20 after receiving a complaint about the duck, Thacker said. But when officers attempted to corner the duck in an effort to catch it in an extended net, the duck took flight.
The same situation played out Dec. 23 after the department received a second call about the injured duck, he said.
"(The officers) can't get close to the duck without it flying away."
Thacker said the dart in the duck's neck does not appear to be impeding its ability to survive.
It is likely that whoever shot the duck with the blow dart didn't do it at the Clinton Pond, Thacker said, because the department likely would have received more reports of an injured bird.
The duck may have been shot on someone's property and then flew to the pond, he said.
But because a duck is considered to be a wild animal, Thacker said, he cannot recommend the public try to catch it.
However, should someone secure the duck, Thacker said, he would encourage they contact his department so officials can respond and have their veterinarian treat the duck's wound.
Davis County Animal Care and Control can be contacted at 801-444-2200.
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