Thanks to Melody Mason and her partner’s quick thinking, an orphaned baby fox is now recovering at the Salthaven West Rehabilitation Centre.
It all started when Mason got a call from her boyfriend. He told her there was an animal following him around his work site.
“I could hear it screaming at him over the phone,” Mason said about the call, “so I just grabbed whatever I thought I needed – a tote, blankets and gloves – and I started heading out there.”
As it turned out, it was a baby fox in critical condition. Its two siblings were discovered dead nearby and its mother was nowhere to be found. Mason knew where to call for some advice.
“We called Salthaven and they told me to bring her in right away,” Mason explained. “They told me not to touch it with my hands and to give it very little human contact. We put a warm water bottle beside her for her to snuggle up to.”
The fox was taken into Salthaven’s care, and has been having a steady recovery ever since.
A key point Salthaven wants to remind the people of is: do not approach animals without the correct consultation first.
“A lot of animals appear like they’re orphans but the parents leave babies for long periods of time on purpose,” Megan Lawrence, director of rehabilitation at Salthaven West explained.
“Not all orphans are actually orphans.”
In the case of the fox, however, there was an orphan in need.
At the end of the day, Mason is happy that she and her boyfriend were able to lend a helping hand.
“Depending on the situation, there’s so many things you can do,” she said. “The main priority is getting her back with her mom.”