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Airplane passenger's 'emotional support duck' waddles into Twitter's heart

By Ben Hooper
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CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 18 (UPI) -- An "emotional support duck" that rode with its owner on a recent flight proved to be a hit with fellow passengers, who made the avian into a viral celebrity.

Mark Essig posted a series of photos to Twitter showing Daniel the duck riding in the passenger compartment of a flight from Charlotte to Ashville, N.C., with his owner, Carla Fitzgerald.

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Fitzgerald said she has PTSD from a 2013 accident involving a driver who was texting behind the wheel. She said her doctor prescribed an emotional support animal to help her remain calm, especially in panic attack situations.

Fitzgerald wasn't the only one to benefit from Daniel's presence on the plane.

"His gentle quacking eases the sadness of leaving," Essig tweeted.

Daniel was spotted earlier boarding a flight from Milwaukee to Charlotte, where he and Fitzgerald transferred to the Ashville-bound flight.

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Twitter user @emma_d tweeted a photo taken by her father of the duck boarding at an American Airlines gate in Milwaukee.

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