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SUMMERFIELD — Tally the duck is special in more ways than one.

A friend gave Tally, who was just a duckling, to Pat Jenks when he moved his business to Oak Ridge Road in 2003.

"She's our company mascot," said Jenks, who owns The Gardens at Gray Gables and a software development company.

Tally is a white duck with a distinctive feature on her head, similar to a cotton ball, which Jenks calls a "bop top."

Her disappearance has baffled Tally's owner. She took at least a year to learn how to walk, and she never wandered far from her little pond behind Jenks' property, he said.

Tally was last heard from June 28, and everyone realized that she was missing on Monday. Business ceased as they searched for her, because Jenks thought Tally might just be out of sight somewhere on the grounds.

In addition to housing his software business, the grounds also serve as a site for weddings. Some brides have requested that Tally be a part of their special day, Jenks said.

Tally likes to be cuddled and she greets people with a "quack" when they open the back door.

"She was very vocal," Jenks said.

The Jenks family, which includes Jenks' wife, Deborah, and their three children, aren't the only ones missing Tally. Their neighbors, employees and family dog are all feeling the void, he said.

Jenks thinks someone took Tally out of love rather than malice. He hopes that she is somewhere wading peacefully in another pond or lake.

He said he has no ill feelings toward whomever took her.
He only wants his duck back.

Having Tally come home on Wednesday - his birthday - would be the best present, Jenks said.

A cash reward is being offered for her return.

Anyone who knows Tally's whereabouts is asked to call
253-6115.

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 627-4881, Ext. 126, or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com