- Mar 21, 2013
- 6
- 7
- 62
As chicken people, foxes are the last thing we want to see near the coop. Last Saturday, I had an unsettling encounter with a red fox. Around 10 am, I had let my dog out to pee, and I heard him rapidly thumping against the sliding glass door while giving his “intruder alert” bark. I went quickly to check, and I found him on our patio barking at a large, rather tall red fox in our yard about 15 feet away.
I went out, which emboldened the dog enough that he charged after the fox, but the fox turned and charged at him! Smart and brave dog that he is, he ran behind me. The fox kept running straight at me anyway. I raised my hands to get as “big” as I could and shouted. He broke away, but the dog saw this as another opportunity, chased the fox, and nipped his heels. The fox wheeled around and started chasing him again! My dog hid behind me again, but this time, the fox kept coming right at me. I jumped aside and it ran past me within a foot or two. The fox chased my dog around the patio, under the patio furniture, and around my legs until I finally managed to grab my dog by the collar. I threw him through the open back door into the house, dashed in behind him, and closed the door. As the fox unsteadily sauntered off, I looked it over and could see that it looked emaciated.
We told our neighbors about this so they could take precautions. We also made sure to tell the neighbor that has been feeding the foxes off her back porch. (She is no longer doing that!) Last night, my wife was at a friend's house down our street and learned that later on that same Saturday morning, another neighbor found a large, tall, emaciated fox in his driveway, dead with no visible cause. Unfortunately, he didn't know about my experience, so he just buried it instead of calling Animal Control so they could send the head to the State Lab.
I called Fairfax Co. Animal Control after the attack, and the weekend dispatcher tried to tell me that its behavior wasn’t odd at all for a human-habituated fox. She said that if it had been rabid, it would have bitten me, not just attack the dog. I called again on Monday and asked to speak to anadult actual Animal Control officer. He said that even if the animal was rabid, we don’t have to worry about it any longer. “Once they start acting crazy aggressive, they’ve probably only got another 48 hours or so to live. The fox you saw on Saturday is probably dead by now.” At that time, I didn't know that he was spot-on, but I still think they were a little too unconcerned, given the recent rabid raccoon bite at South Run, 3 miles from our home. He went on to say that we are having a rabies "boom" in our part of the county because "we have so many large, pretty parks surrounded by homes with big garbage cans."
Since that's the case, I am writing our Congresswoman to ask about getting APHIS, VA Game and Wildlife, or anyone to air-drop rabies oral vaccine baits around the area. These are not poison, but contain a vaccine that is effective if eaten by foxes, raccoons, coyotes, and even dogs. It will not harm pets that might find one and eat it. If you would write too, it could have an effect.
I went out, which emboldened the dog enough that he charged after the fox, but the fox turned and charged at him! Smart and brave dog that he is, he ran behind me. The fox kept running straight at me anyway. I raised my hands to get as “big” as I could and shouted. He broke away, but the dog saw this as another opportunity, chased the fox, and nipped his heels. The fox wheeled around and started chasing him again! My dog hid behind me again, but this time, the fox kept coming right at me. I jumped aside and it ran past me within a foot or two. The fox chased my dog around the patio, under the patio furniture, and around my legs until I finally managed to grab my dog by the collar. I threw him through the open back door into the house, dashed in behind him, and closed the door. As the fox unsteadily sauntered off, I looked it over and could see that it looked emaciated.
We told our neighbors about this so they could take precautions. We also made sure to tell the neighbor that has been feeding the foxes off her back porch. (She is no longer doing that!) Last night, my wife was at a friend's house down our street and learned that later on that same Saturday morning, another neighbor found a large, tall, emaciated fox in his driveway, dead with no visible cause. Unfortunately, he didn't know about my experience, so he just buried it instead of calling Animal Control so they could send the head to the State Lab.
I called Fairfax Co. Animal Control after the attack, and the weekend dispatcher tried to tell me that its behavior wasn’t odd at all for a human-habituated fox. She said that if it had been rabid, it would have bitten me, not just attack the dog. I called again on Monday and asked to speak to an
Since that's the case, I am writing our Congresswoman to ask about getting APHIS, VA Game and Wildlife, or anyone to air-drop rabies oral vaccine baits around the area. These are not poison, but contain a vaccine that is effective if eaten by foxes, raccoons, coyotes, and even dogs. It will not harm pets that might find one and eat it. If you would write too, it could have an effect.
