Fox Wood Wildlife Rescue

Itty Bitty Pups in 2008

Foxes are having trouble this year!  I am getting calls from all over the country regarding fox pups in trouble.  I am not sure if it is because of the visibility of my website , but people seem to more in tune with wildlife and know if they are in real trouble or not.  Thank goodness for technology and the age of digital cameras!  I call it "e-habbing" and I am not sure if I am the first person to coin the term "e-habbing" or not, but digital photos can be a real asset to determining the urgency of a situation.  I am very impressed with the quality of the photos of foxes I get. All the way from mothers and pups to body parts and dead animals. See the photo of the little head injured pup I have. He is very sweet and will not be releasable but hopefully will be able to live a high quality life at the Maine Wildlife Park

Blind Fox Pup Needs Sponsors!

Sponsors are needed for our new fox pups this spring. So far, all of the pups are special needs pups.  One female pup, whose finders called her "Foxy" is blind.  The animal eye specialist that we took her to says that she doesn't even have pupils. You would never know that she is blind by the way she navigates around the pen with ease- jumping on logs, pouncing on insects and trying to coax the o ther pups to play with her.  She is truly an amazing little girl. Sponsors are needed for her as she will need consitnuing medical care as well as a new home built for her - she will be staying at Fox Wood permanently.  If you would like to sponsor this little fox, donations can be sent via paypal to foxladye@yahoo.com. we will promptly e-mail you a photo of her and you will be added to our newsletter list.

More reasons Why There Are Coyotes in Your Neighborhood

Another reason why there are coyotes in your neighborhood is because people are feeding them. Where I live, people are feeding them the deer carcasses that they threw out in the woods and ditches during deer season. The two across the street from my house and the  three directly behind my property line, are indicative how how many more there must be scattered  across the country side. It is not legal to dispose of deer carcasses in the weekly garbage pickup, so people dump them in the woods and on the sides of the road.

There were so many gunshots behind my property this winter it sounded like a war zone.  Undoubtedly many of those shots either landed, missed or more likely, wounded either permanently or fatally many deer. The lost and wounded deer become coyote food. Where there is food, there will be coyotes. Gut piles, deer hit by cars and killed or wounded add to the available food for coyotes.

People in the suburbs often toss out food scraps for the deer, squirrels, raccoons- whatever might be trotting by.  Many of them don't realize that coyotes are also enjoying the handouts.  Coyotes love goodies like vegetables, fruits, pumpkins, birthday cake, cookies, pizza crust, etc...  though they may not to be intending to attract coyotes, they are.   

Why are There Coyotes in Our Neighborhood?

As a Wildlife Rehabilitator who has three captive  coyotes  and deals with coyote issues on a regular basis, I am often the victim of accusations by neighbors.   Whenever a coyote is seen or heard in my neighborhood (which is rural), some of  my neighbors  accuse me of releasing it there!  Of course, this is pure speculation on their part and whether they really think this or not or are just posturing or making conversation  I am not sure.  An interesting note is that these accusations are never made directly to me, I will only hear them second or third-hand.  Because of the work that I do with wildlife I am often a target for false accusations.  I accept this as a part of the good work that I do with wildlife and people.

I have not released any wildlife of any kind off of my own property in many years. Of course, released wildlife never stays where it is released anyway, often traveling hundreds of miles in search of a territory. My release sites are kept secret to protect the animals in their slow-release pens, but they include thousands of acres where I have exclusive permission to release these animals and have erected pens for this purpose. There are absolutely no human dwellings or domestic animals for many miles.  I do this to protect the released animals  while they are adjusting to life back in the wild, as well as to protect any domestic animals, poultry or livestock.  But, my neighbors will see a wild animal and instantly think that I put it there! They forget that coyotes and foxes are everywhere in New York in healthy numbers and certainly don't need me to put them there.

Logging is one big reason why coyotes might suddenly seem to be in an area where they previously had been scarce.  After many years of studying coyotes, I have consistently found that when a resident or neighbor logs their land, coyotes are guaranteed to proliferate there the following year.Why does this happen?    Because suddenly sunlight can reach the forest floor, creating new cover and underbrush for small mammals - the food of coyotes. Tree tops left behind are food and cover for small mammals as well. I guarantee that if you or your neighbor logs, there WILL be coyotes  denning there next year and the following year as well.  Of course the most vocal neighbors are the ones who either logged or their neighbors logged. 

Some neighbors start rumors that "my" coyotes have been killing neighbors dogs and cats. They conveniently forget that owls, cars, other neighbors with guns, and neighbors more aggressive free roaming dogs are the more likely culprits.  I am a much easier target. However, as assistant dog control and working closely with the governing authorities in the area, It is interesting that there have been no reports of missing or killed dogs or cats in this area in as long as I have been here.  Yet, the stories are perpetuated by the same individuals - usually in a tavern atmosphere where alcohol is involved.  It occurs to me that perhaps these people need a hobby of their own and maybe if they had the guts, they could talk to me directly about their concerns.   

The fact is, people make up stories and point fingers when they want to be the focus of attention or when they simply don't have a logical explanation for something.  Sometimes people are just being catty because they are jealous or angry about something else.  I have learned to accept this as a result of the commitment that I have made toward helping animals.  The Federal Government and the State of New York are on my side and they are the recipients of the detailed log of my activities every year. They and the USDA have free access to inspect my property and operation  whenever they wish.  My  neighbors are also welcome to discuss their concerns with me at any time.  I will listen and show them anything at any time.

 

   

Meineke Responds to My complaint

Below in quotes is the reply I got to my complaint against Meinieke- Does this sound like "Service You can Count On" to you? 

"Your refund check for ZERO dollars is in the mail as I type this. You paid ZERO dollars to have the converters installed, so that will be your refund amount.

YOU were not the Meineke customer. The person who sold you the car was. As with ALL products/services, the warranty only applies to the customer who purchased it...not the next person down the line who buys it from someone else.

Converters fail for one reason(other than road damage)...poor running condition of the engine. If yours are not working correctly, fix the engine. It is illegal to install used converters on a vehicle, so if it was done, there would be no reciept. The guy who sold you the car apparently brought his own parts to the Meineke, and they marked up the labor so the job was worth doing by the mechanic...just like ALL shops do.

You have no claim, just as Meineke Corporate told you. Why not complain about the maker of the engine, since that's the root cause of the failed converters? Or, how about the guy who sold you the car? He's the one who screwed you. Of course, that would be a waste of time, and he doesn't have deep pockets like a big Company does, right?"

What Meineke fails to understand is that between all of the complaints that will be filed, all of the negative publicity and the legal fees that will result from this, they would have been far better off had they refunded our $576.20 in the first place. 

Meineke Muffler Ripped Us Off!

I know this blog is for wildlife-related things, but this does relate in a way.  A very generous supporter purchased a Isuzu Trooper  for Fox Wood from a very nice and honest couple in Maryland. It however, needed two new catalytic converters. We worked out a plan and the previous owners took the Trooper to a local Meineke Muffler to have the two new converters installed so that the vehicle would be safe to drive from Maryland to New York. We love the Trooper and it has helped us transport many animals!  The engine light came on after just a few thousand miles. The diagnosis showed  faulty converters.  We had the warranties for the converters and the receipt for the work done, and since Meineke is a national company, we took it to a local Meineke. There, we were told after another diagnosis that one of the supposedly new converters was actually old and rusty, and that neither converter was the correct one for the vehicle. Numerous fitting and pipes and forced them to fit. The Oxygen sensor was also in the wrong place and this was not helping the situation.  He promised to help, but after 4 weeks, no action that had been promised was being taken.

I contacted the Meineke Corporation for help. Their "customer care" person , I'll call her "Hadrian" (not her real name) gave us myriad different ridiculous reasons for why Meineke could not help us. So $576.00 had been paid to Meineke for two catalytic converters that were wrong and disfunctional.  At this point, our Trooper is not driveable and we can all thank Meineke Muffler for that. Please friends, do not put your trust in Meineke Muffler!!! I did a little looking around and found this site that has some simliar opinions of Meinek, their work, products  and their "customer service" .   http://www.ripoffreport.com/searchresults.asp?q1=ALL&q2=&q3=&q4=&q5=&q7=&q6=Meineke&searchtype=0   

They do not honor their "lifetime" warranties, this is a scam. Please beware of Meineke friends!

Coyotes Not Responsible for low Hunting License Sales in New York

A reader of a popular New York outdoor magazine  recently blamed coyotes for the drop in hunting license sales in an editorial. He said that no one buys hunting licenses because the hunting is so poor in New York, and the cause of that is eastern coyotes. The writer said that he was an avid hunter since 1945, and in 1945 there was plenty of open land and lots of small game, but now in 2008 the coyotes have eaten all of the small and much of the large game.  A lot has changed since 1945, and in 63 years a lot of the open land that small game once flourished in is gone.  Asian Ring Necked Pheasants, which are an introduced species, were doomed long before coyotes entered the scene.  Pheasants and other small game species need vast tracts of open and undisturbed land to successfully propagate.  There are not enough large tracts of land any more that are undisturbed.  Most large fields are cut up to three times a year for hay and those cuttings destroy the nests and young.  Most other open land is farmed, and fertilizer and pesticides are no friend  to ground nesting animals . Houses, developments, businesses, big box stores and roads  now cut through areas where species such as pheasants and varying hare once flourished. 

Thanks to logging and a high browse line, the deer have traveled into the suburbs where food and cover are plentiful.   Studies have shown time and time again that coyotes have little overall effect on deer populations, and while they may take some fawns, there are many other mortality factors for fawns such as bear predation, disease,  cars and domestic dogs. 

A lot has changed since 1945 and habitat loss, not coyotes is to blame for many things, including the loss of game species.  One can also explore human lifestyle changes since 1945 to answer some questions regarding hunting license sales, but that is another blog.    

Nasty

What would you name the wildest feral cat you had ever encountered as an experienced cat rescuer? The Sheriff called me late one night because a caller had reported seeing a mother cat and three kittens living in a drainage pipe that went under route 219 between the Microtel and WalMart.  It was an  extremely cold Thanksgiving 2006 weekend night, I grabbed my box traps and some canned cat food and went to get them. Several hours later I had all four cats- hissing, spitting balls of fire in box traps. Now what? I called good friend and cat lover Colleen for help (most people  know how allergic I am to cats!)  The pastel grey mother cat needed to be spayed, given her shots and  wormed. But she proved too much for even the vet clinic who could not get her to go under anesthesia despite a number of attempts.  They would have to try again the following day when the drugs in her system wore off and there wouldn’t be a threat of overdose. After considerable effort,
“Nasty” as she was soon named, was anaesthetized and spayed. Her kittens, Timmy, Jimmy and Kimmy, were quite wild but were eventually placed in a barn home.   Nasty went to Colleen’s home to recover and await placement in a barn that didn’t mind if cats weren’t tame.  Homes like this are very hard to find and please, if you have room for one or more healthy spayed or neutered un-social  cats that  have all their shots, please contact me at foxladye@yahoo.com.   Because of the lack of suitable places to release these cats,  Nasty had to stay at Colleen’s home.  Feeding and cleaning her litter box was always risky because Nasty didn’t want any human hands near her. Over time though, Colleen and her husband gained Nasty’s trust and now, a year later, Nasty is a loving, gentle housecat that loves human touch and has proven to us that even the wildest of feral cats have potential as human companions! Please  consider opening your heart to a homeless cat!

Next Coyote seminar: January 25th at Cheektowaga Town Hall 7-9 PM

Eastern Coyote Education Outreach Programs

Elise has been reaching out to the Community to dispel the myths and misinformation perpetuated  about the Eastern Coyote. In 2006 and 2007 Programs in various townships were presented free of charge to the public.  Getting this information out is very important.  Funding for these  programs is badly needed to cover the cost of advertising, visual equipment, transportation costs and  educational materials.   A Comment heard about this program is: “I have never learned so much information in an hour in my life” People who had previously feared coyotes and wanted to hire trappers to destroy them have changed their minds. Please consider supporting Fox Woods educational  efforts

Great Pyrenees Rescue

I learned of a Great Pyrenees Dog that was in a shelter in Ohio. It seemed that no one would rescue her, and all surrounding rescues were at maximum capacity. This dog was scheduled for euthanasia. I knew nothing about her – other than she was a female Great Pyrenees dog, but something about the situation didn’t set well with me, so I pulled strings, made friends and got her a ride to Buffalo. Lucky for us, “Lucy” turned out to be young, healthy and with a very sweet disposition. She did pose one problem - she had a special skill for jumping fences and took us on a few chases…But, alas, we have found Lucy the perfect forever home where she is loved and won’t ever have to face abandonment and death in a shelter again. I have another lovely young female available. “Chloe” is a young, healthy, spayed female that gets along great with other dogs. A fenced yard is a must for this dog who loves to explore. If you are interested in adopting a Chloe, or another Great Pyrenees Dog, please go to wwww.nationalpyr.org and fill out an adoption to adopt.  You may also e-mail me at foxladye@yahoo.com