On Feb. 19, it was announced via Instagram that Quacktavious — a popular pet duck to owner and University of Oregon student Jeremy Jackson — passed away.
Quacktavious was registered as Jackson’s emotional support animal after he transferred from Mississippi State University to UO. Quacktavious was 2 years old at the time of his passing.
Jackson said he felt that Quacktavious had a positive and “huge” impact on students daily during his lifetime.
“There (are) so many people who saw me or (direct messaged) me or whatever. They just were like, ‘Quacktavious brought me so much joy today,’ or ‘Quacktavious made my day today’ or anything along those lines,” Jackson said.
One thing that Jackson wants people to remember the most about Quacktavious is he was always reminded that he was loved.
“I made sure he knew that the people here loved him,” Jackson said. “There’s no way he probably understands what Instagram is, but I show him at times things that people would say or pictures that people took of him.”
When Jackson was asked what his favorite memories with Quacktavious were, he said there were two that “stand out.”
“One was the first media day we did, which was with the women’s tennis team, just because from that day forward, so many opportunities happened,” Jackson said.
According to Jackson, this initial media day brought many more opportunities for Quacktavious to be featured with other athletics teams.
“The second would be the first time we went to Dexter Lake because from that moment on, he fell in love with the lake,” Jackson said.
Jackson said that every time he and Quacktavious went to Dexter Lake, Quacktavious would try to “run across the parking lot to go jump in the water.”
“I kid you not. We showed up, and he dove into the water like he’s never been in water before… but yeah he had so much fun, and it was always a good time anytime we went,” Jackson said.
Jackson said he is unsure of the cause of death of Quacktavious.
“I honestly don’t even know how it happened; like he was good. In the days leading up, he was good,” Jackson said. “Last night (Feb. 18) I fed him, and then I got back from (physical therapy) this morning, and I went in to check on him and he was gone.”
A memorial was held for Quacktavious in front of the Lillis Business Complex on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. As observed, there were about 60 to 70 people who attended the memorial.
The memorial began with Jackson giving a few words of appreciation for the people who showed up, and then he gave the floor to any crowd members who wanted to share their own memories about Quacktavious.
One person who shared her memories with Quacktavious was Tamra Duncan, a student at UO. She told her initial story of meeting Quacktavious with her sorority members and being astonished that a real duck was on campus with Jackson.
“My favorite animal ever since I was a little kid was actually a duck, so I was ‘cheesin;’ I was so happy. And this one person took a picture of me holding Quacktavious, and it’s literally the happiest picture of me that I think I’ve ever seen,” Duncan said.
Duncan gave her thanks to Jackson and Quacktavious for the “happy moment” she got to experience.
Jackson said the biggest thing for him with Quacktavious was “outreach.”
“Whether that was going off campus and doing things or whatever may be, I always wanted everyone else to experience the joy that he brought me,” Jackson said.
