How a puppy and a duck became fast friends at a Mansfield park

You never know where you just might find a new friend.

Take the case of Mister, a 2-year-old Labrador mix puppy, and his best friend Ducky Pop. They met in January of when Mister’s masters, Stephanie Buduhan and her husband Patrick, were out for a walk with him, strolling through Rose Park in Mansfield.

“We saw this duck. Mister absolutely loves chasing critters — squirrels, possums, anything that moves, basically,” Stephanie said with a chuckle. “So he ran up to the duck, and we were thinking the duck would immediately run or fly away.

“Well, the duck did not flee right away. So Mister kept trying to play with him, doing play bows and jumping around. It was so cute.”

After a minute or so, the duck did end up getting back in the pond. So they left and thought that was that. Little did they know this was only the beginning of a beautiful friendship, with all due respect to Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains from the movie “Casablanca.”

About a week later, they were back at the park, and they saw the duck again. And this time, the duck started coming straight toward Mister.

“We couldn’t believe it. The duck started following us on our walk,” she said. “Well, this turned into a routine. We’d go to the park, we’d walk by the pond, and the duck would come out and go on our walk with us. We’ve lovingly named him Ducky Pop.

“Mister definitely said, ‘Hi,’ first, but Ducky Pop took the friendship to the next level.”

Now, Mister doesn’t even have to look for Ducky Pop because Ducky Pop looks for Mister, Stephanie said.

“Every time we go past the pond, Ducky Pop will spot Mister, and then start quacking loudly and get out and rush toward Mister. It’s the cutest thing ever,” she said.

Stephanie smiled and said Ducky Pop even tries to follow them home sometimes.

“We’ll try to ‘drop him off’ back at the pond, but he will follow us all the way to our car in the parking lot,” she said. “He wants to go home with Mister.”

“As much as we’d love to take him home with us, we’d never take him away from his Mansfield park family,” Patrick added.

Mister is by nature a friendly doggie who is always sweet and obliging when strangers want to pet him. However, he’s much more interested in sniffing around and chasing squirrels — until he crosses paths with his best friend Ducky Pop.

Stephanie said this brightens the day for herself and Patrick, but also for others who see the animal friends hanging out together.

“They are such an unlikely pair that it just brings a big smile to your face,” she said. “I love when we’re out walking around the park and people are smiling and laughing seeing them together.

“People will say, ‘Oh my gosh, look at that duck following that dog!’”

And, of course, Mister and Ducky Pop are always ready and willing when someone wants to take a photo.

But why was Ducky Pop so eager to make friends with Mister? Stephanie and Patrick have a theory.

“The sad part of the story is that we suspect Ducky Pop can’t fly. So he’s bound to Rose Park,” she said. “We think that’s why he’s making the most of it by making friends with the park-goers. All the regulars at the park know him. Some call him Duckie, some call him Frank, he probably has many names.

“Mansfield folks are kind and make sure he is well-fed and attended to. But I’ve never seen him follow anyone else like he follows our Mister Boy.”

Stephanie and Patrick have no children of their own, but Mister and Ducky Pop bring them plenty of joy — and they believe others can learn a valuable lesson from the unlikely duo.

“You can be friends with someone different from you,” she said.

To which Patrick also noted: “When I see how happy they are together, it warms my heart. I think they’ll be friends forever.”

This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 4:30 AM.