Behind the glass window of an empty south Minneapolis storefront, three ducks in a blue kiddy pool stretched their wings like they were preparing for flight.
The ducklings were raised by Fritz Faus, a 62-year-old retiree who owns the building that also houses Isles Bun & Coffee. Love for animals runs deep in Faus, who spent countless summer hours with family on Big Island on Lake Minnetonka connecting with plants and wildlife.
“I don’t know what it is, but our entire family just cares about wildlife,” Faus said. “I couldn’t imagine leaving these three ducks to perish just because I was selfish.”
Faus said the ducklings waddled to his cabin in Excelsior two months ago. Each approached, peeping for their mother, he said. Faus watched and waited for her to appear, but only a Canadian goose emerged. And as the ducks’ calls angered the goose, Faus shooed her away for fear the goose would kill them.
That day, Faus bought supplies to raise the ducks, feeding them mealworms and minnows while sometimes homing them in his empty storefront property near Isles Bun & Coffee. His daughters, who will graduate high school and college soon, assisted with the ducks’ care before taking the day off Tuesday to help Faus release them back into nature.
On Tuesday morning, Faus and his daughters loaded the ducks into cages and hauled them to a pier on Lake Harriet where they have seen dozens of ducks often gather. Faus’ ducks hesitated, spending nearly an hour near their opened cages and adoptive father before they waddled into the lake and swam away.
“It brought satisfaction every single day that I went out to feed them,” Faus recalled, as he watched the ducks socialize with other ducks near the pier. “I spent a lot of money and time on the ducks, but I loved it. It brought a lot of joy.”
Though he lives dozens of miles away, Faus plans to exercise around Lake Harriet often now. He’ll do so with minnows in hand, just in case his ducklings want a taste of home.
