Dog helps baby fox survive apparent attack
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published April 19, 2006

Dogs can be a best friend to more than just humans apparently.

Officials at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center are rehabilitating a several week old female fox, which followed a boxer dog to its Columbia Station home the evening of April 12 after apparently being involved in some kind of fight. The slightly more than two pound fox had surgery April 15 to fix wounds to her mouth, nasal cavity and teeth. The baby fox is the first one that workers at the center have taken care of.

“It’s pretty amazing actually,” said Megan Tadiello, the wildlife rehabilitation coordinator at the center. “She had some bad lacerations and cuts around her snout, so she was either attacked or in some kind of fight with a larger animal like a raccoon or coyote. She wasn’t in real good shape but she apparently was able to follow the dog back to its home where the family found it.”

John Wendell said the incident for his family had begun that evening when he had been out for a walk with the two family dogs, his Australian retriever and his son’s boxer.

An orphaned fox receives expert care at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center. (Photo by Larry Bennet)

“Mine was staying pretty close to me, but my son’s boxer, Foreman, had wandered off,” Wendell said. “I called for him a couple of times, but he didn’t come back so I was wondering where he had gotten to.”

After heading for home, Wendell said he heard a little noise and then saw an unusual sight.

“There was Foreman back home lying there waiting for me outside. But I heard this noise and then I saw right by him this little fox,”  Wendell said. “Needless to say I was surprised since they normally don’t come around humans too much.”

He said in his 23 years at the Columbia Station home, he’s only seen two foxes previously.

“One was just a couple of weeks ago,” Wendell said. “So it’s possible it was this one’s parent. We haven’t seen any sign of it since I saw it or since we found the baby.”

Tadiello said they probably will never know what happened, but speculated that the larger animal could have been looking for food and killed the parent and also went after the little fox kit.

“If it was a coyote, it may have killed the older fox and then eaten it,” she said. “The older fox might have tried to defend the younger one also. The older one could also still be out there.”

After approaching the young animal, Wendell found it wasn’t afraid.

“It ran up to me and jumped into my lap,” he said. “It also followed Foreman around everywhere. When we threw a Frisbee for my dog, the fox would also go chasing after it.”

However, Wendell said between the fox being a wild animal and its wounds, he knew his family couldn’t give it the long-term care it needs to survive.

“My son called up the Nature and Science Center and they said they would take care of it,” Wendell said. “We hope it recovers and does well.”

  Tadiello said after center workers examined the kit, they determined surgery would be needed. Dr. Frank Krupka, an Avon Lake veterinarian who has done volunteer work for the center for several years, did the surgery.

“I’ve done work with other wild animals so I have some experience in working with them,” Krupka said. “I just wanted to try and have the surgery help fix the different problems.”

He said in addition to repairing the mouth area, other concerns included having liquids draining into the nasal area and lungs and whether a tooth socket would be able to handle the kit’s adult teeth.

“That’s very important for an animal which is going to be eating and hunting out in the wild,” he said. “Those areas have to work for it to be able to function. Otherwise you won’t be able to put it back in the wild and you’ll have to find another home for it.”

Krupka said the surgery went well, but that the kit still has to be closely monitored.

“You have to watch for possible infection and to make sure the drainage is going properly now,” he said.

Tadiello monitored the baby Saturday night after the surgery.

“She was a little noisy but she seems to be doing OK,” she said Monday.

Dave Wolf, director of wildlife programs for the center, said he emphasizes that the various animals taken care of by the center are wild.

“We really don’t want them too comfortable with humans,” Wolf said. “We want them to be wary of humans and able to survive out in the wild on their own.”

He said the kit will probably be monitored for several weeks at the center.

“We emphasize in our training that whether it’s a red-tailed hawk, a pigeon or something else like the fox, we should treat them all the same,” he said.

Wolf said having something different like the fox allows the staff to practice their veterinary skills.

“We try to keep most of the human contact away and do only what’s needed to help it get better,” he said.

He said if the staff determines the fox is able to survive on its own, they will take it back to the area it was found and re-introduce it to that area.

Hopefully, there will be an older fox which help finish teaching it necessary hunting and survival skills, Wolf said.

Since the surgery and rehabilitation went beyond the center’s normal resources, workers said anybody wishing to donate money or resources for it’s care should call the center at 871-2900.