2.FEB.07

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) – Perky is one tough bird.

The ring-neck duck survived being shot and spending two days in a hunter’s refrigerator — and now she’s had a close brush with death on a veterinarian’s operating table.

The one-pound female duck stopped breathing Saturday during surgery to repair gunshot damage to one wing, said Noni Beck of the Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary.{{more}}

Veterinarian David Hale revived the bird after several tense moments by performing CPR.

“I started crying, ‘She’s alive!”‘ Beck said.

Perky entered the headlines last week after a hunter’s wife opened her refrigerator door and the should’ve-been-dead duck lifted its head and looked at her. The bird had been in the fridge for two days since being shot and presumed killed January 15.

Perky is recovering with a pin installed in the fractured wing, and probably will not have more surgery because of her sensitivity to anesthesia, Hale said.