Meet Oscar: Central Oregon’s only hiking duck

Love comes along when you least expect it, and it comes in all shapes and sizes.

And for Anna Reinicke, it happens to waddle, too — because one of her closest friends just so happens to be a duck.

“I love the sound of his voice, and I hear it and he makes me laugh every single day. He’s a lot of fun.” Reinicke said Friday.

Oscar is 1 1/2-year-old Indian Runner duck. His hobbies include quacking and hiking.

“He’s constantly talking, constantly muttering,” Reinicke said.

Oscar’s hiking career started out small.

“I started just taking him down on the river. We would walk the river trail so he could splash around, and I realized how much fun he was having — and after that, I started to take him on a couple shorter hikes,” Reinicke said.

So far, the feather in Oscar’s cap is a four-mile hike. Although Reinicke said sometimes he gets tired, and when that happens, she carries him.

Oscar started life in a farm store. He was purchased by Reinicke to lay eggs.

But after he survived a dog attack, a broken pelvis — and finding out that Oscar is actually a male and will never lay eggs — Anna decided to take him under her wing.

“I don’t think he would do well without me at this point, and I don’t think I would do well without him. He loves me and I love him,” Reinicke said.

But she’s not the only person who loves Oscar.

When he goes on hikes with Reinicke, he’s swarmed by families stunned to see a duck on a hike. But Oscar takes the attention in stride, letting children pet him and parents take photos.

But even Oscar isn’t perfect.

“Just like anything else, when we get frustrated with things, there’s definitely times when I’m like, ‘Ah, duck!'” Reinicke said.

And when that happens, that’s when Oscar gets a firm talking to.

“He’s a lucky duck, you know,” Reinicke said.

“I kind of remind him of that, too, when he’s not being very well-behaved — that he could be on someone’s farm being fattened up for dinner.” she said.

Despite the occasional disagreement, it’s clear this friendship won’t fly south any time soon.