Fox Wood Wildlife Rescue

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Please Help Mend our Clinic

Our Observatory Clinic is in desperate need! Due to a combination of heavy water damage, squirrels, and dog and cat damage we were forced to gut our clinic and re-do it completely. We have re-insulated and run new electric and water, but now have run out of funds to finish it. In hindsight, we never should have gutted it before getting the estimate to put it back together.  It is a mess and we have been without our clinic since June.  We desperately need funds to put it back together again – drywall, wood paneling, Paint, lights, new windows, a new floor and repairs around the door are desperately needed.  We aren’t able to employ Scouts for the work needed from here on since this type of work calls for professionals.  The estimate to complete this work is $12,000.  We welcome donations by contractors to complete this work. 

   

Limited Edition 2008 Foofye Calendars are Now Available!

For that special little dog in your life, or that friend that has everything... 12 months of the cutest little dog in the world. Foofye will also autograph and sign photos for her fans. Only $24.00 but hurry, this is a Limited Edition! Foofye will probably be famous soon and you will have this calendar from "before" the fame! It might be worth lots of money some day.

In Memory of Lucy

In fond memory of “Lucy” our ancient Silver fox that was humanely euthanized November 14^th 2007. She was never ill a day in her life and never missed a meal until her last day. I estimated her age to be at least 17 years.    Lucy was a very valuable asset to Fox Wood because through the years she was a surrogate mother to hundreds of orphaned fox pups. She was  kind and gentle to the babies and would feed them before she would feed herself. Our fox pups grew up very wild because of Lucy. They never knew that food came from human hands.

Limited Edition Foofye Calendars Available Soon!

The cutest Little Dog in the World is featured in this Annual Calendar. the perfect gift for someone who loves little dogs! Order your now, only $24.00. Pay  through Paypal to foxladye@yahoo.com or send us an e-mail request! See Fall Foliage Foofye, Blind Foofye,Stuffed Toy Foofye, Crocodile Foofye, Red Frock Foofye, Windblown Foofye  and many more Photos of The Cutest Little Dog in the World!

 

Treating Sarcoptic Mange in Red foxes

  I often get calls and e-mails from people who have a Red fox around that is acting lethargic or unfearful of humans.  They will stay close to houses and will eat under the bird feeders, seek refuge under decks and often lay in the hay in barns.  A scruffy appearance usually indicates that the fox has Sarcoptic mange. 

Sarcoptic mange is the name for the skin disease caused by infection with the Sarcoptes scabei mite.  The mites are microscopic and can't be seen by the naked eye.  Female Sarcoptes mites burrow under the skin and leave a trail of eggs behind. This burrowing creates an inflammatory response in the skin similar to an allergic reaction.  The motion of the mite in and on the skin is extremely itchy, as is the hatching of the eggs. This creates further allergic reaction and more itching, loss of sleep and reduced immune response.  Loss of fur, scaly skin  and a general unthrify appearance is characteristic of a Sarcoptic mange infestation.  The condition worsens as a skin infection sets in.  The Foxes immune system is even more compromised and internal parasites (tape, hook and round worms) begin to take over and absorb any nutrients that fox may find.  Mangy foxes are usually starving in the late stages. 

These foxes are not a threat to people, dogs, cats, etc.  They are close to people and buildings because there may be easy food such as cat or dog food left out in dishes, bird seed, garbage, insects, worms, roadkill and a mouse or two.  They are also losing their ability to thermoregulate  and need protection from wind, shade, sun, whatever the present need of the body is.  Mangy foxes (and coyotes) often seek out a pile of hay to lay in. Hay seems to relieve the itchiness and provide a source of comfort.

Sarcoptic mange is treatable if the animal is treated in time before the process of organ failure begins. The drug of choice is inexpensive and easy to obtain. Although it is an "off-label use" according to the FDA, Ivermectin injection for cattle and pigs is a very effective cure for Sarcoptic mange in foxes.  This injectable solution works orally and can easily be slipped into food. The ivermectin also treats a lot of the intestinal worms and any ear mites. The catch is this: it kills the mites living on the skin but doesn't kill the eggs .  These eggs will hatch and reinfect the fox, so it has to be administered  many times to kill the mange mites that hatch after treatment.  I strongly recommend treating Red foxes very aggressively, giving them the Ivermectin every three days for the first two weeks.  A daily feeding station using cat or dog food can be set up  to facilitate the administration of tasty treats laced with ivermectin.  A spoonful of canned cat food, a chunk of cooked chicken or venison can easily be injected with the solution.  Weeks four and five give the ivermectin every five days.  Weeks six through nine put the ivermectin every ten days.   

Ivermectin comes in two strengths- the 200 mL tall blue bottle  is a dilute 0.27% solution for Grower and Feeder Pigs.   0.5 ml (or cc) will treat a 10 lb fox. if your fox is an adult or young adult, it is a 10 lb fox.  A lot of people think they weigh more than that , but trust me, a mangy fox does not tip the scales past 10 lbs.  Fox pups may weigh less, and you can cut the dose in half.  You will need a large needle to draw the solution out of the bottle because the solution is rather thick. A very fine needle and small syringe will make it difficult to draw.

The second  strength of Ivermectin is in a much smaller bottle  (50 mL) and is a concentrated 1% solution.  This injection solution is for cattle and large swine.  It costs around $45 at most farm stores- but it will last forever!  1 mL will treat a 110 lb cow. 0.5 cc will treat a 55 lb fox - of course we know that there are no 55lb foxes... so, you will need to really give a small amount!  I use 0.2 mL (or 0.2 cc) .  Giving the solution orally is much safer and has a larger margin for error than injecting it in foxes.

Of course other wildlife might get to the food before the fox does, so try to use your judgment and administer it the best way that will target only the fox.  Ivermectin is a pretty safe drug and won't harm most wildlife.  Some breeds of dogs can be very sensitive to it, particularly the collie family and Australian shepherds .  Use extra caution around domestic animals.  They use Ivermectin in third world countries to treat different things, such as scabies in humans.  Ivermectin is also used to treat dogs and cats for mange, though it is an off label use according to the FDA . 

A topical product called Revolution can be obtained through your veterinarian and used to help prevent your domestic dogs from picking up mange in the grass surrounding your property.  I have found Revolution to be a very effective preventative for mange, but a very ineffective cure for mange.  I apply Revolution to all my foxes just before they are released back to the wild as a preventative measure for them.  I have tried Revolution as a treatment on several foxes and a dog that had mange, and it simply did not treat the mange infestation at all. 

Can people get mange? You bet, but it won't live and reproduce on your skin.  It will give you one heck of an itchy red allergic reaction if you are sensitive to mange mites though.   I have had it more than a few times. it won't bother some people, and others it will.  I happen to be one of those sensitive to it.  In fact, I have used my own skin reaction as an indicator of if an animal's skin condition is actually mange or not.  Often a veterinarians skin scrape can  miss the mites,  but, my skin doesn't.  I have diagnosed mange in fawns, coyotes, dogs, very young fox pups and other tricky things that a skin scraping  had missed.  I will share my personal mange experience in a future blog  :0)   

Coyote Presentation in East Aurora, NY November 9th

Coyotes: The Real Story

Do coyotes in Western New York worry you? Should they? Are they friends or foes? Learn to sort through the myths and the facts Friday November 9th at Knox Farm State park from 7-8 PM .  Canine Expert Elise Able from Fox Wood Wildlife Rescue, Inc will present an interesting perspective on coyotes at this free educational program. Knox Farm State Park is located in East Aurora, NY. Use the Route 16 entrance to the park.  Pre-registration is requested as space is limited 716-826-8895

Coming Soon! Foofye.com

Foofye.com    Where Little Dogs Rule!

July 29th Fundraiser at Sprague Brook Park

Here is an update on the planned funraiser July 29th at Sprague Brook Park:

I have decided to stop the worrying and called an old friend who owns a concession stand. He will cook Italian sausage, burgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers, grilled vegetables, and have fruit salad, candy, pop, gatorade and water.   If I provide a couple of volunteers if needed, he will donate a percentage of the money from  food sold.  If anyone would volunteer a couple of hours to help with the stand during the day, I would appreciate it.

There will also be beer and wine,  any wine suggestions or  volunteers to serve for a while? Can anyone get some beer or wine donated?

Baskets and goodies for the silent auction are  rolling in.  The Smiths are donating a hockey stick signed by Buffalo Sabres alumni ("the french connection" I think is on there...)  There will be a few hand painted items by  friends who are artists.  Another good friend has gotten a few restaurant gift certificates for us! More things are needed for baskets and silent auction items.  Please let me know what you can gather.  I will pick them up or you can drop them off.   Any businesses donating items who wish to have their names mentioned will certainly get good press.  Items and certificates can bedropped off or mailed to me at : 11156 Old Glenwood Road, East Concord, NY  I have that handy box at the end of the driveway for such things too (thanks to the Boy Scouts!)

Another  good  friend suggested having an auction for "mystery items"- items that are wrapped and what is inside is unknown... people then bid for them and the winner opens it up in front of everyone.  Sounds like fun. More ideas on this note are appreciated... So, bring a wrapped fun Mystery Item with you!

There will be some acoustic guitar pickin' going on- if you play an instrument and would like to "jam" please bring it along - Do you play the fiddle, bongos, bagpipes?   ... :0)    it will be a lot of fun.

The Southtowns working dog club will be there with an agility demonstration

I am hoping that there will also be a Canine Good Citizen testing event there as well.

Nancy Proulx will be doing readings on pets, so bring a photo of your pet unless you have your pet with you.  Nancy has a very gentle, quiet  way of listening to and understanding dogs and horses in particular and I have asked her advice on a number of rescues.  I have always been very impressed with her intuitiveness. 

There will be tents for shade for dogs and people.

Bring your tennis racket too, we are right next to the tennis courts.

Bring Frisbees, tennis balls... Bring a water bowl for your dog. 

Does your dog do a trick? We would love to see it!  We will have a dog trick time. Nothing too fancy - just fun stuff that make you proud of your dog.

I will be providing adhesive name tags for everyone and their dogs too.... This is mostly for my benefit because I panic and forget names very easily.

More ideas at this point are gratefully mulled over.

Thank you!

Elise

716-592-1861

Was it Really Feral Dogs and Not Coyotes?

Coyotes are blamed for a lot of things that they do not do, that is a fact.  Recently a local New York farmer believed that coyotes attacked calves in his barn at night.  Due to the fact that the calves were bitten all over and not actually eaten or dragged away and devoured, leads experts to believe that it was actually free roaming dogs.  Dogs bite and chase and will go after multiple animals.  Dogs chase and kill for fun.  A coyote "MO" is different.  They take one and eat what they kill- either right there or by dragging it off.

Some late-breaking news on the case of the Chautauqua County Fred J. Cusimano Westside Overland Trail regarding the  two dogs that were killed while running  free while their owner snowshoed on a remote wildlife trail... I am currently investigating a reliable report that these were not coyotes that attacked the labs and killed them, but rather a pack  feral dogs that had been causing problems in the area for a period of time.  I will be investigating this and if I find out that it was indeed wild dogs, I will be sure to contact the media and make sure they do a factual report on this new information.  I will either confirm or deny this report after some research.