6 Ducklings Left Behind By Mother Taken In By Dog Named Fred

Mountfitchet Castle / Facebook

A yellow Labrador named Fred is going viral for the second time.

Last year, Fred gained worldwide attention when he “adopted” nine ducklings at the tourist attraction Mountfitchet Castle in Stansted Mountfichet, Essex.

The ducklings’ mother couldn’t be found on the grounds, so the owners brought the ducklings inside, where Fred met them for the first time.

The owner of the castle, Jeremy Goldsmith, told BBC last year, “We brought the ducklings into the house as they are too young to fend for themselves, and Fred just took them under his paw – rather than his wing. He’s got a lovely nature and has grown up around rescued animals.”

The ducklings completely took to Fred’s nurturing personality and began following him everywhere, even in to the castle moat for a swim, and enjoy climbing on his back.

His nine ducklings have all flown the nest but now, a year after his first stint as a foster dad, Fred has taken another set of ducklings under his paw.

This time, he is fostering six ducklings who were left behind by their mother.

“The mother, a Muscovy duck, had fourteen babies but for some reason left half of them behind in the nest when she wandered off to the nearest pond with the other half of the ducklings dutifully following along behind her. Within minutes the ducklings accepted their odd looking new mum and were climbing all over him.”

Check out the sweet photos of Fred and his new ducklings below.

Mountfichet Castle is home to many rescue animals, but Fred is the “resident dog” and loves interacting with all the other animals.