It’s never easy telling someone that they aren’t truly who they believe to be, particularly if that someone is an animal. So, why mention it?
Katherine McClure is a mother to more than just her own children, she’s also a mom to the several rescue animals that are brought to her home.
To her, it’s simple.
“Somebody calls me and there’s a need,” she told The Dodo.
McClure answers those calls no matter the type of animal. If the animal needs a home, she will provide that for them. Thus, her home looks more like a farm than a typical house with just a cat and dog.
But with all of those different types of animals around, it’s common for them to cross one another’s paths. While they all get along, one thing that she notices is that some animals start to adopt the habits of those from another species.
For example, their duck, Butterball, doesn’t seem to believe that she is a duck at all. In fact, she thinks she’s a dog! As crazy as it sounds, seeing her waddle behind McClure’s two other dogs is truly heartwarming.
“She wants to be part of the pack,” she says.
She sure does and she is doing everything she can to ensure that she is granted membership. In addition to joining McClure and her poodles for their walks, she drinks out of the dog bowls alongside them and even eats their food.
Of course, McClure does her best to keep her away from that!
Fondly, McClure recalls the first time Butterball became interested in being a dog. Interestingly enough, it all started with going on a walk.
“She just busted through the gate and went with us. She went the whole way! And then turned around and came back with us.”
Since then, things have never been the same.
“She just decided one day [that] she needed to know what it was all about.”
Though some might think that Butterball will snap out of it one day and realize she’s a duck, it sounds like that is unlikely. Whenever other ducks are brought in to live with the family, she wants nothing to do with them.
McClure shared that while she gets along great with the chickens and the rabbits, she doesn’t seem interested in interacting with any of the other ducks that are brought home. Clearly, Butterball prefers to be the center of attention.
McClure shared that they began taking in rescue animals when they were brought an orphaned gosling. They named her Mary Weather and she quickly became a part of the family. Like Butterball, she didn’t believe that she was a duck at all.
“She literally thought she was human,” McClure said.
Thus, when Mary Weather died, the impact was tremendous. McClure says she cried for a month before her husband suggested they seek out animals to adopt. Fortunately, there was a petting zoo going out of business and the family adopted four ducks.
Still, the loss of Mary Weather never really went away. McClure is an artist and Mary Weather appears in many of her paintings. In fact, most of her art includes animals.
“I’d say 90% of my art includes animals,” she shares.
From the sounds of it, the animals enjoy seeing themselves displayed in her art studio in the backyard. Often, the animals will stop in and pay her a visit.
McClure and her family are doing a wonderful job caring for their animals, no matter what species they believe they belong to.
If you would like to see more of McClure’s art, you can visit her website here! Meanwhile, check out the video of McClure’s animals, including Butterball, below!
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