News/Commentary

Man says he was banned from Buc-ee’s for taking his ‘service duck’ shopping with him

March 17, 2024 | | Print Article

A circus performer has been banned from all Buc-ee’s locations for life for bringing his duck with him inside a store.

For the uninitiated, Buc-ee’s is a chain of stores founded in Texas and mainly based in the South and Midwest.

About a month ago, circus performer Justin Wood, a juggler, showed up at a Buc-ee’s store in Sevierville, Tennessee and brought his “service duck,” Wrinkle, inside with him in a stroller, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

Wood proceeded to roll Wrinkle around the store as they greeted customers and checked out goods.

Watch via Wood’s YouTube channel:

But then problems began to arise when they were “confronted by an employee saying pets are not allowed inside the store.”

Thankfully, they were allowed to proceed on their way after Wood showed the employee IDs proving that Wrinkle is indeed a service animal. But then shortly thereafter, another employee confronted them.

“Even if it’s considered a service animal, you have to be able to contain it, and it can fly out,” the employee said.

In response, Wood attached a leash to Wrinkle, pulled the duck out of the stroller, and let them waddle beside him.

All was well afterward til the duo returned outside after buying some water bottles, only to be accosted by a police officer letting them know they’d been banned from all Buc-ee’s locations for life.

“If you’re caught on property and everything you’ll be charged with trespassing,” the officer said.

Wood was also forced to buy a toy that Wrinkle had reportedly bit while inside the store.

“She did nothing but make everybody happy in there,” Wood said in the video about Wrinkle.

“Indeed, even the officer who gave him the news of the ban wanted to learn more about the duck. At one point, he even feeds Wrinkle a treat,” the Express-News notes.

Surprisingly, despite Wood seeming like a lovely guy, he’s facing pushback from many who doubt that Wrinkle is a real service animal.

Case in point:

The top-commented comments at Fox News, which also covered the story, were equally scathing.

“I don’t blame the store,” one critic wrote. “Unless it’s an official service animal, which I very much doubt it was, it should not be in the store. It makes as much sense as bringing in a Bison or a Buzzard.”

“The laws concerning service animals need fixed,” another wrote. “The animal should have to wear a service animal vest, the owner needs to carry documentation that proves it’s a service animal (with a verifiable registration number). Leashes at all times. The animal should also be clean- if it’s visibly dirty or it has an odor they should not be allowed into stores. These ‘service animals’ are out of hand.”

Of course, not everybody agrees.

All this said, how did Wrinkle and Wood even link up?

According to Wikipedia, Wrinkle was the only survivor out of six eggs and lives with Wood and his assistant, Joyce Kung, in New York City.

More interestingly, Wrinkle is biologically male but was initially thought to be female, and so for some reason, Wood and Kung both refer to him as “she/her.” Evidently, the duck is transgender. Who knew!?

Vivek Saxena
Latest posts by Vivek Saxena (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles