Michigan board says boy with autism can keep emotional support ducks

Credit: China Photos

Credit: China Photos

A Michigan zoning board ruled Wednesday that a boy with autism can keep his emotional support ducks, WXMI reported.

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The decision was a victory for the family of Dylan Dyke, who have been fighting an ordinance in Georgetown Township after neighbors complained that the boy’s ducks, Nibbles and Bill, were a nuisance, the television station reported.

Dylan’s parents, Mark and Jennifer Dyke, requested a variance to the ordinance, and members of the Ottawa County zoning board agreed as long as certain rules were followed.

Board members said the ducks must be kept in a coop that is no bigger than 80 square feet and located in the family's backyard at least 10 feet from neighboring property lines, WXMI reported. The ducks will not be allowed to roam freely in the backyard unless Dylan is with them, the television station reported.

"This has been an exhausting process, we've been at it since May," Jennifer Dyke told WXMI. "And Dylan has really felt the pressure and the exhaustion from all of this. We're ready to move on with our lives and Dylan just wants his normal back. He just wants his ducks."

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