Every morning, Stephen Curry’s sister Sydel and their family would wake up to a reminder. Her daughter, Daryn, would rush into her room and ask to see their adopted pet. It was a stray duck that the family called Ducky. They would expect it to swim around in their pool every day and cater to it as if it were their own. However, her recent confession of a tragedy brought sorrow to the house.

On her podcast Straight to Cam with Cameron Brink, she revealed that their pet duck suffered a notorious fate. “Okay, so my confession this week is that someone killed our pet duck, Dougie. Just have a moment, take a moment for him,” she said. “Last week, I was driving down the street, and I saw a decapitated duck. The body was on one side, and the head was on the other.”

Sydel Curry-Lee is still unsure whether the “decapitated duck” was Dougie. However, she is almost certain because since the past week, no duck has been swimming in their pool as it did before. Most would offer sympathy to a family grieving the loss of a pet. But the reaction of their podcast guest, Lonzo Ball, was unexpected.

“What kind of show is this?” he first questioned. “Man, this just changed the whole day.” But the Bulls star had s rather strange way of dealing with the news.

“At least all ducks kind of look alike, so if another one comes around, you can just name it Ducky,” he said. But beyond offering ways to replace the family pet, Ball told Sydel Curry-Lee, “You could have kept that one to yourself.” The Bulls guard wasn’t trying to be rude. Maybe he felt the gore details of the incident weren’t necessary. Or Ball probably isn’t the man who is sentimental or overtly expressive. Even after he made a comeback after missing two years due to injury, the most he could muster was, “I was definitely blessed to hear my name. It was cool.” But, he is one optimistic guy.

It was about gladly accepting any role then– starter or off the bench. In his words: “I start or I don’t start, I feel like the game is the same for me.” And it is about holding your hopes now. “A lot of pools I have, ducks be in them, I think Ducky Jr. going to be back this week, Friday,” he later said on the episode. The podcast crew had a laugh about Lonzo Ball’s reaction. But Sydel Curry-Lee had to take several initiatives to ensure their family doesn’t feel the loss of their beloved duck.

Sydel Curry-Lee has tried everything to distract her daughter

It’s no wonder, Sydel Curry-Lee is saddened by the possible passing of their pet duck. But the major impact has been on her daughter. Daryn. She was the one who would excitedly tell her parents about the sighting of Ducky. But it’s been nearly 10 days, and she hasn’t seen any ducks enjoy the pool.

In order to “distract” her, the Curry-Lee household has implemented a variety of different techniques.

“This just changed the whole day. Yeah. No, it’s starting the day out every day on a really sad note. Um we’ve had to buy her like not had to, but you know, try to distract her. I bought her a stuffed duck that looks just like Douggee. Got her a duck sleepsack that’s got the ducks that look like our duck all over it,” she revealed on the podcast.

However, none of it helps to cope with the living being that offered so much joy to the household. Hence, for her daughter’s sake, the to-be mother of three didn’t feel like sparing the person responsible. “So I don’t know who ran the duck over and I hope that they have really bad days every day until my daughter gets over it,” said Sydel Curry-Lee.