Newfoundland Fowl Feather Friends Sven and Olaf Are An Inseparable Pair and Protagonists of Book Series

(By Madison Walters, Tulsapeople.com, May 31, 2024) "Looking to add a little light into her family’s lives during the pandemic, Jessie Vallier adopted a Newfoundland puppy named Sven and a flock of ducks around the same time. Tragedy struck the small Broken Arrow farm one morning when it was discovered a coyote had attacked the flock, leaving a single survivor. A few days after the event, Vallier noticed the duck, fittingly named Olaf, had begun shadowing the puppy. It wasn’t long after that she found the two lounging in a kiddie pool together, and the pair has been inseparable since. Vallier and her family were surprised by the odd pairing’s unlikely friendship. 'It’s so funny to see this little duck do everything with this huge dog,' she says, adding 'it would make (us) forget for a second what was happening in the world.'

Not thinking anything would come from it, Vallier began posting videos of the pair on Instagram and was blown away by the response. 'We had the sweetest messages from people all over the world, saying their friendship was helping them get through the dark days,' she says. Fans began to leave comments saying the dog and duck’s friendship would make for a great book, and finally after a year of seeing these comments, Vallier decided to try her hand at writing a children’s book about the friends (with Sven going by “Biss” and Olaf by “Olee”). She enlisted illustrator Krystal Kramer, who lives in Mississippi, to create art for the project. The result was a book series titled “The Adventures of Biss and Olee,” of which the sequel “The Adventures of Biss and Olee: Work on the Farm” will tentatively release at the end of summer. The books can be purchased on Amazon and via publisher Bookbaby Bookshop at store.bookbaby.com. You can keep up with the duo on Instagram @adventuresofbissandolee."