Author: Elise Able
Gray Fox!
Many people never get the chance to see the elusive Gray fox. This is mostly because they are more nocturnal and deep woods than the more commonly seen Red fox. Grays tend to be more secretive, hanging out more in the areas where raccoons are than in the open fields. Unlike Red foxes, Grays can climb trees. In fact ,grays share a lot of characteristics in common with raccoons. They are very susceptible to Distemper, so much so that simply using the wrong Distemper vaccine can cause a gray fox to come down with the disease. Even with great care, Distemper is not a disease they are likely to survive. Like raccoons, a rabid Gray fox can be quite aggressive and rabid gray foxes are often misidentified as Red foxes. This is probably because of the rust coloration around their ears and neck. It is my belief that when the Health Department lists the rabid animals throughout our state that they should not be lumping Red and Gray foxes into one “fox” category- Reds and Grays are two completely different animals. Photo of “Baby Fox” courtesy of photographer Robert Watroba
The Pups are Here!
So far, there are ten orphaned fox pups here. All of these pups now have a family, including a wonderful old fox that mothers them and makes sure they grow up fearing humans. Our pups often grow to be larger than the other wild pups the same age. We attribute that to excellent diet, room to play and grow and Heather, our old female that mothers them. What a difference it all makes.
Another Special Dog : “Sammy”
Sammy is an abuse and neglect case. He is still shy because of the abuse and wouldn’t have done well in a shelter atmosphere, so we brought Sammy to Fox Wood! We LOVE him! He is so sweet and easy going. Sammy will get his shots, worming and be neutered shortly. Sammy is a clearly a Border Collie mix and will make some lucky adopter a loving companion. If you are interested in giving Sammy, or even Herbie (posted prior below) a forever home, please contact Fox Wood!
Herbie
Herbie is the newest rescue at Fox Wood. We are working very hard to socialize this Aussie mix puppy who was caught in a fox trap in January. Given his behavior and state of health we assume that Herbie had been living on his own for a long time. He was only four months old. He loves the other dogs here and is very confident when they are around, but still doesn’t trust humans and is very shy around even us. He started Puppy School Tuesday and should be an interesting case, as his first day was spent cowering in the corners and crawling under anything he could get under. Hopefully Herbie will reach a point where he can be adopted by a dog savvy family with another dog or two to play with.
Flat Stanley Visits Fox Wood
Celebrity figure Flat Stanley stopped by Fox Wood Wildlife Rescue Saturday February 7th for a brief tour. He enjoyed the opossum and was relieved that the skunk saw him as a “friend”. He found the foxes and coyotes quite curious. Thank you Stanley for including Fox Wood in your whirl wind tour!
Lost cat
The Poor Little Dog Recovers!
Thanks to everyone who donated, the Poor little Dog is now fully recovered! When we were called to the City of Buffalo Animals Shelter to pick up Athena, the “wild” Bengal cat, we couldn’t resist taking a quick walk through the dog kennels to see if there was someone else we could save. In the very first dog in the kennel was a pathetic little Pomeranian mix that looked very much like our little “Foofye”. She was very sick and we were told not a good candidate for adoption. We pulled a few strings and brought her home the next day. Even though she was taken to a vet right away and put on antibiotics, her pneumonia worsened. She also had extremely bad teeth, a gum infection, a mammary gland tumor, a broken tail and a urinary tract infection. She also needed to be spayed (particularly because of the mammary gland tumor). After several weeks of different antibiotics, a test was performed and it revealed that the bacteria in her lungs were resistant to most antibiotics. After several more weeks and almost losing her, a miracle happened and she recovered from the pneumonia. When she was strong enough, we had her spayed, removed the tumor and had eight bad teeth pulled. Since then she has doubled in weight! Her eyes sparkle and she is full of energy. The little Pom is working hard on the potty training and we are hoping, for the carpets sake that this catches on quick. Any ideas out there?
Athena
Athena, the Bengal cat we rescued from the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter, is now over her respiratory infection and anger at the indignity of being at the shelter in the first place (see photo above..) and is doing fantastic in her new home with Dawn Camp of Camp Skipping Pig. Dawn also does pig rescue! Check out Dawns website and see the pictures of the Kune Kunes at http://www.skippingkunekunes.com/
Opossum at Fox Wood
Opossums are so beautiful and sweet! This little girl is going to stay at Fox Wood for the winter and be released in the spring.
