When Jeremy Jackson adopted his pet duck Quacktavious in the spring, he was a student at Mississippi State University. Jackson had no idea he would transfer to UO, where his pet would match the mascot, or that he would become an internet and campus-wide sensation.
“It was a very spur-of-the-moment decision,” Jackson said. “I told my roommate, I said, ‘Bro, I’m just gonna go buy a duck.’ And so then I just went and bought a duck.”
When Quacktavious was a duckling, he lived life as a stow-away, sleeping in a box in Jackson’s dorm unbeknownst to the RA across the hall. It became a sort of scavenger hunt for the supervisors of on-campus housing at Mississippi State — they knew there was a duck on campus, but they couldn’t find out where he was staying. Eventually, Jackson’s RA discovered Quacktavious, but he turned a blind eye and the duck remained in the dorms for the rest of Jackson’s time at Mississippi State.
When he moved to Oregon, Jackson decided to make things official and get Quacktavious registered as an emotional support animal. He said the process was seamless and when he went to get Quacktavious approved at his apartment, they treated the situation as if he were any other household pet.
“I was like, ‘Ok, this is gonna be sketchy; they’ve seen dogs, they’ve seen cats, but dude, I’ve got a duck,’” Jackson said. “But they just didn’t even react. I think they’re just like, ‘Oh yeah, we the ones with the duck.’ They’re proud of it.”
Graduated from his box in the dorm and settled into Jackson’s apartment, Quacktavious is living lavishly. He spends his nights sleeping in Jackson’s room and has regular baths in Jackson’s bathtub, which Jackson said must be lukewarm and candlelit.
“Bro’s like 100% bougie,” Jackson said. “He gotta have the lights off, gotta have that candle going. And then I put him in the water and he just cleans himself.”
When Jackson isn’t busy with classes, he takes Quacktavious to campus. Out of respect, Jackson doesn’t take Quacktavious into any of the buildings, but the two of them can be found strolling around outside, Quacktavious waddling only a few webbed feet behind Jackson.
“He likes to play in the grass a lot and there’s not a lot of grass near my apartment so that’s the main reason I take him to campus,” Jackson said. “But it’s also because, you know, why not. He’s our mascot; it doesn’t get any better than having a live duck on campus.”
The response to Quacktavious has been overwhelmingly positive. When he attended the Colorado vs. Oregon football game as a guest in the student section, Quacktavious went viral from a video posted by popular social media account Barstool Ducks. In the video, Jackson hoists Quacktavious into the air and the crowd around him loses it. The next video shows sheriffs trying to kick Quacktavious out of the student section as the crowd chants, “keep the duck.” After the sheriffs approved Jackson’s ESA license, Quacktavious was permitted to stay and watch the rest of the game.
Now, Quacktavious is frequently recognized and approached on campus. He has become quite a presence at UO. Jackson said while Quacktavious does like the attention, the duck sometimes gets overstimulated.
“There’ll be some times where a whole bunch of people just walk up to me and they’re just trying to pet him at the same time,” he said. “I can feel him getting overwhelmed because I’m getting overwhelmed. It’s just like okay, either I’m gonna take a step back or y’all can take a step back because we’re getting uncomfortable.”
Oftentimes, students will acknowledge the duck before Jackson, but he said he doesn’t really mind. “To be honest, I’m kind of introverted, and so I kind of try to put all the attention on him,” he said.
Jackson has made a few genuine friends from the exposure Quacktavious is getting. At first, he was worried that being a transfer student would make him an “oddball.”
“I thought being a transfer would be awkward, you know, not knowing anyone,” he said. But having Quacktavious around and being approached on campus so often has helped Jackson to connect with his new community.
“He has helped me to be more sociable and I think that’s the biggest bonus, you know, he’s helping me,” Jackson said. But most of all, Quacktavious has become his friend. “He’s imprinted on me, but I’ve also imprinted on him.”
