How many therapy ducks are too many? Veteran with PTSD and 6 ducks appeals
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A former Ohio National Guardsman who served in Iraq and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression is appealing his October municipal-court conviction for keeping registered therapy ducks.
Darin Welker, who had 14 ducks at his West Lafayette, Ohio, home when he was cited in June, says the therapy animals are medically necessary to help him cope with his mental condition and physical wounds, reports USA Today. Hence, his need for the ducks should trump the ordinance, says an appeal brief he filed in late January with the 5th District Court of Appeals in the Coshocton County case.
Welker was cited with a village ordinance in effect at the time that banned farm animals, the article explains. Since then, West Lafayette has amended the ordinance to permit therapy animals, but imposes a two-animal limit. Welker has given away eight of the ducks, but he still has six of them. His wife testified in October that he needs less medication and has made fewer visits to his psychiatrist since he began keeping the ducks in a fenced portion of the family’s backyard.
In a brief filed Wednesday, the village said Welker provided no proof that the ducks are medically necessary and knew when he purchased them that they were prohibited by the municipality, reports the Coshocton Tribune.
“We cannot allow citizens to be able to be excused from the police powers of municipalities and villages solely by their own testimony that their actions make them feel better,” the village says in the brief.
Hat tip: Associated Press
