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arl
Hickethier was only trying to show a little hospitality
toward some ducks in the fountain by the Medical Center. That was all.
No big deal, he thought.
Hickethier, the Medical Center's
director of housekeeping for 22 years, set up some shelters and allowed
visitors to start feeding the mallards. "It was fun; it was great for
everybody," he said. Then quack of mouth spread quickly through the duck
world and other families started showing up for their share of
Hickethier's goodwill. The ducks became a giant headache - they
polluted the fountain and caused problems with their aggressive mating
and territorial behavior.
Related Information:
Desperate for advice, Hickethier called
the California Fish and Game Department. Officials there told him he
never should have encouraged the ducks in the first place. So last May
the hospital had members of Palo Alto's Wildlife Rescue remove newborn
ducklings from the pond.
But as is usually the case with the management of animals at Stanford,
controversy was close behind. Some employees were peeved. "It's the only
joy in their day for some of the really sick kids in this hospital,"
Patti Spezia, a medical systems employee at the hospital told a
newspaper. Against the wishes of Fish and Game, Hickethier left a ramp
that will keep any future
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