NAHANT — There’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s not taking any quack.
Cheerio, the town’s favorite duck, was a Nahant cop for the day on Friday. He stood in front of Officer Tim Furlong’s cruiser in a showdown and wouldn’t move until the car window rolled down.
“He’s a stubborn guy,” said Furlong. “He wouldn’t get out of the way of my cruiser. I stuck my head out and said ‘Cheerio’ and he jumped right in.”
The Nahant Police Department posted a photo of the feathery friend on social media, calling him Officer Cheerio.
His owner Steven Thibeault joked about supporting the duck’s dreams of a career in law enforcement, suggesting he could serve as the town’s aerial unit.
Eight months ago, Thibeault, who manages the Bass Point Apartments, rescued Cheerio from the complex’s pool. He took home the days-old bird, fed him, and gave him a warm place to sleep. Now the duck doesn’t leave his side.
Thibeault tried many times to reunite his friend with its mother, but Cheerio doesn’t want to leave him.
“I threw him like a softball towards her,” said Thibeault. “The last time I went out there to try, I said ‘well mama, I’ll take the best care of him I can.”
And so he did.
Thibeault researched the proper ways to care for his new friend. At first, he prepared him a blend of kale, spinach, and other greens in a food processor. He hid the occasional carrot in the medley, because Cheerio is not fond of the taste. Far better was adding a bit of cereal to the veggie mix, which has become Cheerio’s favorite.
“Bread isn’t good for ducks,” said Thibeault. “Everyone thinks ‘oh it’s a duck, feed it bread’ but bread has no nutritional value for ducks.”
When the brave little duckling first spread his wings and learned to fly — with guidance from Thibeault — the duck dad said it was a little difficult to not have him by his side all the time.
Soon Cheerio was tracking down tenants from the complex and joining in on their favorite activities. He has chased around golf balls at the golf course, showed up at the beach when a friend was kite surfing, and joins in when the children play during recess.
“When the kids are in the pool, they put their little goggles on and go under water and he’ll copy them,” he said.
The eight-month-old has even started to make friends with other ducks, and during the summer months, spends time swimming with them in the ocean.
“I was worried about that,” said Thibeault. “But he socializes with other ducks. I watched him with my binoculars.”
Still, Cheerio always returns to Sea Breeze Lane when the sun goes down.
