Fox Wood Wildlife Rescue

Sad Dog Rescued from Highway

This poor dog was dumped along a busy expressway. She was stiff from being hit by a car, and living off road killed deer.  She ran from anyone who tried to lure her or catch her.  We became proactive and  set up a feeding station for her, and when we saw her actually eating the food at the station, she was trapped just a few days later.  She is now living at Fox Wood and learning how to trust humans again!  

She is the little brown blob in the middle of the hill of rocks.  This is as close as we could get her her in a car. Photographing her on foot was impossible because we couldn't get this close

In the trap, growling and frightened because she is worried about her fate

She was a bag of bones 

 

Just a few weeks later: Happy at Fox Wood.  She has free roam of the house and yard. She loves our other dogs, loves car rides and loves to go for walks at the park with her pals.  She has gained considerable weight and has been dewormed, de-flead, and will be spayed soon. She is a very young dog that plays like a puppy. It is especially rewarding when she comes running to us now, instead of running away in fear as she did at first. We are so glad that we noticed this sweet dog curled up by the expressway fence and decided to take action to help her!

 

Our Response to Visitor Requests...

In the past year, many people have asked to visit Fox Wood to see the animals. Please allow me to list a few reasons why I am very hesitant to have visitors, and also to do another annual fundraising Open House:

1. By nature foxes and coyotes are very shy and visitors stress them out.  This isn't a zoo, its a sanctuary- designed for the safety and comfort of the animals. I feel trying to profit from that or exploit the animals is unethical and unfair to the animals. Where I could probably get more donations by allowing visitors, I don't believe it is ethical to exploit the animals for money

 

2. I tried an annual one day only Open House fundraising event for several years. Many wonderful people contributed auction items, baskets, helped run the event. But one person arrived early, not identifying himself, and proceeded to interrogate me as to why my foxes and coyotes were not allowed to run free outside their pens. I can't believe I was forced to explain this to someone, and forced to be kind to this person while I was desperately trying to prepare things for hundreds of guests. Uneducated extremists are not nice to have around!

 

3. The following year, another Open house, and people who should have been working together started bickering. Really? Then an anonymous writer sent a letter to me  after the event complaining that they saw a guest drinking a beer at my event. So, my guests, who were large contributors by the way,  are not allowed to have a beer on a hot, sunny, summer afternoon at my Open House Event?  The anonymous writer thought it might send a message out that all my donations would be spent on beer??? Really??  Look around. Does it appear that all our donations were spent on BEER? This was very frustrating, proving that it only takes one A****e to ruin a good  thing for everyone.

 

4. Animal people can be more venomous than snakes. I have seen in recent times good rescuers be attacked by people who feel they should be doing things differently. We see this a lot in rescue- which is one reason why there are so many small rescue groups.  They are passionate , opinionated people who end up disagreeing on how rescue should be done. They end up fracturing into smaller groups, or getting out of rescue all together. They often  fight bitterly, slandering each other and trying to destroy others. In the end, only the animals lose. This is why from the beginning, I've kept this rescue very close to the vest, not allowed others other than the close board of directors to get "involved'. This is why I am able to continue focusing solely on the animals, putting every single dollar donated into helping  the dogs and wildlife that come to Fox Wood.  The animals are the ones fed here- not egos.

 

5. I would rather go without nice clothes, trips, jewelry, a nice car, etc because I had to spend my own personal money to pay for medical care, food, housing , etc for the animals. I refuse to compromise my ethics, exploit the animals or have people pull my focus from the main objective here with petty differences, jealousy or hatred. At Fox Wood, the welfare of the animals  is what's important.

 

So, folks, that's why I take photos and post them. They are the next best thing to being here in person.  Please understand why visitors are politely declined. Thank you!

Coyote and Fox Urine As A Repellent For Wildlife

Through the years, I have gathered urine soaked bedding material from my coyote pens to give to people that were having issues with wildlife.  They have used the urine to encourage raccoon mothers to safely relocate their young without having to trap the female and then destroy the young left behind because they didn't realize she had young.  In New York State, wildlife rehabilitators have to be specially licensed to raise orphaned raccoons and because of the prohibitive requirtements only a handful of rehabilitators for orphaned raccoons exist.  These rehabilitators get filled up to the maximum # of baby raccoons they can handle very early in the year. that leaves hundreds of thousands of orphaned baby raccoons and the people who find them without options.  These numbers could be greatly cut if people would use a combination of  light, noise and coyote urine soaked bedding material to encourage momma to find another location to raise her young.  Many wild mammals do not want to keep their young in an area where there are predators such as coyotes and foxes.   Red foxes don't want to raise their young where there is a coyote roaming nearby.  If a coyote finds a littler of young fox, it will kill them.  They do this to ensure there is enough prey for their own pups. Sprinkling coyote urine soaked materials near a red or gray fox den will encourage momma fox to move her pups to a "safer" location.

Recently, a friend of mine had chipmunks chew the wire harness of his brand new truck causing some very expensive repairs that were not covered under the warranty.  It seems the new harness coating is "environmentally friendly" and tasty to rodents.  He had the problem repaired, with new "environmentally friendly" wire harness coating.  Worried it would happen again, he picked up some coyote urine soaked material and put it into a metal box with holes in it. He placed this under his truck in the parking spot.  Interestingly  enough, not only have chipmunks not chewed the new harness, but he hasn't even seen a chipmunk anywhere near his house since. Prior to that, there were many, many of them in his wood piles and such. 

I've been using Red fox urine from my fox pens to make skunks and raccoons relocate themselves for years. They don't want to be anywhere near foxes or coyotes - especially if they have young. I've been a licensed humane nuisance control agent for 19 years.  Unlike others who just trap and destroy, I work with the animals natural instincts to get them to leave on their own- saving lives!

Many people have come to get coyote urine to keep deer, rabbits and woodchucks from eating their garden vegetables, hostas and flowers. 

Because of my need for donations, I am going to offer coyote and fox urine soaked bedding to the general public via my website.  It is a cruelty-free product and  unlike the fur farms and trappers where coyote and fox urine is gathered now, my coyotes and foxes live comfortable happy lives at my sanctuary.  Call it "happy pee" if you want, but it sure works, and smells and performs better than the bottled stuff created by animals under stress  or killed.  I will gather it fresh when I get a request, and ship it out that day.  The money raised will go straight toward the care of injured and orphaned wildlife and also for making the living conditions for the permanent coyote and fox residents better and happier for them. 

At present, I will mail the urine soaked bedding in plastic bags in a padded envelope. A one gallon ziplock bag will be $20, shipping and handling is free!  I will give more details as soon as I do some more research on how to do this.  Until then, it can be purchased by clicking on the tip jar, and donating $20 to Fox Wood. Write a brief note and tell me if you prefer coyote or fox urine.  You may ask me any questions by e-mailing me at :  foxladye@yahoo.com

This years pups are rolling in one by one!

Healthy 2 week Old Fox Pup Sleeping

 

Short tailed Weasel Hit By Car

This little guy is recovering after being hit by a car.  Notice that it is half-way between its winter and summer colors! Animals that change colors from summer to winter are Seasonally dimorphic.  

Fox Pup Opened His Eyes Sunday Night

Hopefull some bnuddies will arrive soon for him!  The adult Red foxes, Boo and Handsome Boy are anxious for a youngster, but he is way too small to put him in with them yet.  Despite how much handling he must receive at this age for proper care, once he goes in with Boo and Handsome Boy, his surrogate parents, he will find out that foxes are much more fun to be with than humans! 

First Red fox pup of 2012! Just a little guy, only a few days old. Witnesses say that they saw his Momma carrying him when something frightened her. She dropped the pup and ran. Despite giving her many hours to retrieve the pup, she never came back for him. Probably a first time momma.

Bats in Homes in the Winter

 

During the winter many bats, especially Big Brown bats in Western New York hibernate in homes.   During mild weather, or when the home might be heated warmer than usual, the bats will wake up and search for food or water.  They often follow beams of light streaming in from lit rooms, thinking it is the way outside. It might be the light from a hallway, a tv or a reading light. These beams duplicate the light of dusk that bats use to find their way outside from attics during warmer months.

Many people are terrified of bats and they panic when they see one flying around their room at night. The bat is equally terrified - as he/she was planning on flying outside for a sip of water or a meal of insects. To send the bat out into the cold winter air is a death sentence for the bat, as is ignoring its need for water.  When bats wake from hibernation, their fat stores are rapidly depleted, often to the point where it will starve to death before spring. In addition, after three days of being awake and not getting water, the bat will become dehydrated and will perish.   

Ideally, in this situation, the bat should be allowed to re-enter its state of hibernation after getting some food and water. This is not an easy process, as the bat needs to be kept awake long enough to be re-hydrated and replenish depleted fat stores with a special diet, then allowed time to digest the food and slowly re-enter the hibernative state.  But who will do this?  Not an easy, safe  or legal task for the average person who cares about bats. It is difficult to duplicate the conditions of a bat  hibernaculum. The temperature and humidity have to be just right. Years ago, some bats could be "overwintered" in refrigerators.  But with the new "frost free" refrigerators, all moisture is extracted from the bats body during the "frost free" process and the bats will die. Ideal conditions are those that are found in wine cellars.  Wine Humidors have been suggested, but since they are "air tight" the bats would suffocate.   Fox Wood is trying to find a solution to this dilemma so that we can help more bats.  

There are precious few people who understand bat biology, and even fewer in New York State. With White-Nose Syndrome decimating our Little Brown bat populations, there is a possibility that this disease could spread to our Big Brown Bats- and what will be the costs to the environment and  humans as a result of the loss of these bats?  Insect populations would spiral out of control,  pesticide use would have to be accelerated and that's not going to be a good situation.  

Please be kind to bats.  If you know there are a few hibernating in your attic, please allow them to stay at least until spring.  Use caulk to seal off cracks and holes that might allow them into your living space.  If you need to have them removed, please wait until spring and hire a reputable, environmentally conscious Bat Excluder to install one-way doors and check valves after insuring all cracks and holes where the bats may re-enter are sealed or repaired.  In New york, the rule of thumb is "June or July, let 'em fly".  This means that the bats have their young in the very beginning of June, and so you will need to have them excluded before June, and wait until at least the second week in August when their young can fly to attempt an exclusion.   If you have bats in your home that you don't want, then you need to take a close look at your home.  If you have bats getting in, you also have bees getting in, and warm air escaping in the winter. Many bat excluders are experienced carpenters who can advise you on necessary repairs. 

 

Here is our Annual Fox Wood Newsletter for 2011. I hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas!

Download Newsletter2011 (Autosaved)