NEED TO KNOW
- Tibi Sullivan tells PEOPLE her family was on the way home for Fourth of July fireworks when they spotted a mama duck
- She and her husband saw the duck’s unusual behavior and quickly realized some of her babies were in distress
- The Sullivan family’s rescue has nearly 2 million views on TikTok
A family is going viral for saving a family of ducks on the Fourth of July.
Tibi Sullivan tells PEOPLE she and her family were on the way home from a holiday celebration at her brother’s house, excited to see fireworks as it was getting dark. As they drove down a street near their home, Sullivan’s husband spotted the ducks.
“We were one street away from our house when we saw the ducks. We drove past them before I could even see them, and he decided to turn around to show the kids,” she tells PEOPLE of her husband.
While there are ducks in their area, the family wasn’t used to seeing them in their neighborhood, since they aren’t close to the water.
“When we made it back to the ducks, my husband noticed the mama duck hadn’t moved and was still standing by the drain. That’s when he mentioned her distress and asked me to get out and check the drain,” Sullivan says.
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After getting out and taking a peek down the drain, Sullivan realized that there was what appeared to be one duckling in the drain. As the chirps multiplied, however, she realized there had to be more.
“I tried to lift the grate up with one arm to make sure it wasn’t locked shut,” Sullivan says. “It was too heavy for me to lift with one arm. I would’ve had to deadlift it open. I told my husband to come open it and he got it open easily.”
They needed some type of tool in order to get the ducks out, and they were close enough to home to run over and grab something.
“My oldest daughter is 8 and she was the most aware about what was happening. I left my husband by the ducks and jumped in the car to go grab a net with the kids in the car,” Sullivan says.
“My oldest was on the verge of tears telling me to drive faster saying, ‘Nothing else matters right now,’ ” the mom continues. “She was scared the baby ducks wouldn’t make it.”
When they got back, Sullivan’s husband got to work. A neighbor saw them and “stopped his truck in the middle of the street to block traffic.”
Everyone was relieved as the couple rescued four ducklings and got them back to their mom, who had waited nearby.
“After the rescue, all the kids were happy and excited that they made it to their mom,” Sullivan shares.
When Sullivan shared the cute moment on TikTok, she knew people would appreciate it, but she was “shocked” at how many people it reached: 2 million and counting!
“It was nice to see so many sweet comments. To us, it wasn’t even a question to save the ducks or not. It didn’t even cross our minds to just leave them there,” she says.
“I feel like anyone would try and help in this situation. Reading these comments about my husband being a hero and a green flag has been nice and rewarding,” she adds, “because that’s what he truly is, and the kind of person he tries to be every single day. ”
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