A Girl And Her Duck Have Formed An Inseparable Interspecies Bond

FREEPORT, ME — Snowflake the duck isn’t a passing fancy for Kylie Brown of Freeport, Maine. The 8-year-old considers herself Snowflake’s mom and the interspecies bond appears to be mutual.

Kylie and Snowflake were instant pals when her family brought him home as a duckling in 2015. He followed her everywhere. He was a noisy little bird, but when Kylie stuck her head into the box, Snowflake immediately stopped quacking.

Ashley and Mike Brown never intended for Snowflake to be a house duck, but the determined duck refused to leave their daughter’s side. They bought him a diaper and let him stay by Kylie’s side.

The girl and her duck everywhere together — to the beach and on sledding trips, to soccer practice, to sleepovers and trick-or-treating, with Snowflake dressing up as Olaf, the snowman from “Frozen.”

CBS News reporter Steve Hartman, who first reported on the inseparable pair in 2016, caught up with Kylie and Snowflake for a recent “On the Road” segment.

“I’m his mom,” Kylie said.

And as a good mother, she’s not about to leave Snowflake behind.

“He goes everywhere that ducks are allowed and almost everywhere they're not allowed. I don't know if you've ever had a 2-year-old or a 4-year-old that wouldn't leave home without its blankie,” Mike Brown said. “She would not leave home without her duck. And at that point, nothing is negotiable.”

The Browns said their daughter’s devotion to the duck isn’t just a cute story.

“It's special that I know that that's the type of person she's going to be,” Mike said.

(Video of Hartman’s original story is at the top of this article. Go here to see Hartman's update.)