The residents of one Calgary neighbourhood are stuck wondering why there’s been a rash of thefts of items with a lot of sentimental value, but no real resale value.
“Fish used to be in here,” Misha Leon said, pointing at a small backyard pond in Forest Lawn. “We went on holiday for a couple of days. When we came back, they were all gone.”
The Leon home was also targeted for its water fountain. Leon said they initially put the water feature in the front yard to help beautify the neighbourhood.
“They tried taking that out and they realized it was too heavy, so they dropped it, and they ended up breaking the bowl.”
That’s not the only front yard feature that was nabbed by thieves.
Wendy Eckes had a small sord of ducks and other birds – ceramic statues – sitting on a bridge in her front lawn.
“I noticed it … three days ago. I just come out here to play in my flowers and I noticed there was an empty spot,” she said.
But the duck statue wasn’t store-bought. It was a gift from Eckes’ mother.
“Before she passed away, she gave it to me. And it means a lot. It’s not worth anything, but it is to me,” Eckes said.
“When she passed away, she said to me: ‘Plant a flower every year.’ And she loved gardening.”
A base is all that remains of the statue, a statue that Eckes said had evidence of its years of previous life.
“This duck means the world to me, but it doesn’t mean anything to anybody else. You know, it’s sentimental. My mom isn’t here anymore so she can’t give me another duck.”
The Border Crossing pub is a local watering hole and one day, a ceramic chicken showed up, unannounced.
“I left for work the night before, came in the next day, and this guy scared the crap out of me,” Katie Jewell said. “He was just sitting by our back door.”
The chicken is now a fixture in the bar after the original owner came by for a beverage, noticed it and gave the bar her blessing to keep the bird.
Jewell said the ceramic chicken has found family, perched beside another chicken nick-nack on a shelf.
“Everybody loves everybody here. And, you know, we’re all like family. So he kind of just became family,” Jewell said.
Eckes still hopes for her stone duck’s return.
“Just bring it back. No questions asked. Just drop it off at a local store or police station. Bring it back here. I don’t care. Just bring my duck home.”