West Orange Cops, Bystanders Rescue Ducklings From Sewer

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A pair of kindhearted bystanders and some West Orange police officers recently some adorable ducklings with a bit of “outside the box” thinking.

The West Orange Police Department gave some details about the smile-inducing effort last week. Police wrote:

“We take pride in being there to help the smallest residents of our community when they need us the most. But these little guys definitely caught us off-guard! Officers Bode and Risteski responded to a call of an unknown situation on Northfield Avenue. On a busy street, the calls came in that there were cars stopped in the right lane obstructing traffic and people standing in the roadway. The officers had no idea what to expect when they arrived on scene.”

Here's what happened next, police said:

“Two Good Samaritans were there to explain that they saw a brood of ducklings fall into the sewer. The officers could immediately see how small, fragile and in danger they were. Although we train for many situations, THIS situation is not in the manual! Following the ingenuity of these kindhearted citizens, they created a gentle trap using masks and some long fabric. It took patience, perseverance and teamwork, but they got all six ducklings rescued! Once saved, the next question was what to do with them. Officer Bode brought them across the street to the zoo but the zoo was already closed. As one of the WOPD’s trained and certified Humane Law Enforcement Officers, Officer Bode loves animals! He took the box of ducklings home after his shift and eventually brought them to the Raptor Trust bird sanctuary in Millington.”

“Kudos to those citizens who saw some of God’s creatures in need and ran to the rescue,” police stated. “And a proud shout out to Officer Risteski and Officer Bode for going the extra mile!”

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