Sweetbriar Fox Release In Great River

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Saturday, September 24, 2011,

Just look at that face. Is that the face of a happy canine or what? This little vixen is relaxing in the tall grass after being released at the Timber Point Golf Course in Great River. A real diamond in the rough. Isn’t she a beauty? These are her first few moments of freedom after spending over two months convalescing at Sweetbriar Nature Center. She was rescued here back at the end of June and now she’s back home.

My friend Janine is one of the wildlife rehabilitators at Sweetbriar and she invited me to photograph the release of this young Red Fox. Thanks again, Janine. This is a photo op that doesn’t come along very often. Janine is the rehab tech that responded when Sweetbriar got a call concerning an ailing fox seen on the golf course.

An exam back at Sweetbriar revealed that the fox was a female kit – that means puppy to you and me – and she was only about two or three months old, tops. Possibly the victim of a hawk attack, she had puncture wounds and scrapes all over her body. The little lady wasn’t using her left foreleg and one of her eyes was completely clouded over due to an infection. She was also very underweight and dehydrated and covered with ticks. I saw her within days of her rescue. She was not a pretty sight and this was after the Sweetbriar crew had already cleaned her up. It was heartbreaking to see this tiny girl, dwarfed inside a medium sized dog carrier, favoring her injured leg and obviously blind in that milky eye. It was her not her best day.

She was taken to Commack Animal Emergency Hospital for a checkup. The folks there do a lot of pro bono work for Sweetbriar but sometimes they work it out in trade. In this case, Janine had to take three baby squirrels off their hands. A fair trade, I think. The vets x-rayed the fox’s leg and had a look at her eye. Luckily, there were no broken bones and with medication the eye would mend.

After a week or so of isolation, during which she received eye medication and had her wounds cleansed daily, she was introduced to Sweetbriar’s resident fox. They hit it off just great and became fast friends. Unfortunately, the resident fox can never be released because his injuries are too severe to allow him to survive in the wild. He’s blind in one eye and nearly completely so in the other. He’s also missing one of his rear feet. I don’t know what happened to him but, obviously, being a fox is no picnic. On a happier note, our heroine only needed a few more weeks of eye drops and then some time to get her strength and weight back.
I make it sound easy but but wrangling a wild animal and giving it eye drops cannot be an easy trick. If any of you have ever tried to do this with a pet at home, you know what I’m talking about. Try that with a critter that has no reason to trust you or any humans. In fact, it’s likely that the only human encounters this fox has ever had probably involved dodging golf balls. Janine admits that her work can be difficult but in the same breath she also points out how rewarding it is.

Then it was “Out the door”, “See ya later alligator”, and my mother’s favorite, “Here’s your hat and where’s your hurry?” It was time for her to leave Sweetbriar and get back to where she belonged. Of all the times I had seen this young lady, she was never more beautiful than she was on the day of her release. She was a free creature in her natural element and that is a truly wonderful thing to see. I feel fortunate to have witnessed it. I hope you enjoy the photos because I really enjoyed taking them.

Good luck in the world, little one. JK


10 thoughts on “Sweetbriar Fox Release In Great River”

  1. Born free….as free as the wind blows………….She did come in at the end of June…..I found her records haha….nice story, what I love best is that it really sounds like you talking!

  2. Joe–what fabulous photos–the look on her face in the first, and how dwarfed she is in the kennel, plus your engaging writing style made this an experience i could feel along with you. Thanks for such an adventure–and thanks to Janine and Sweetbrier as well as Commack Animal Hospital for all they did to make this happy ending!

  3. Hey Joe,
    What a wonderful story. I think you have an additional talent besides photography———–writing. You have a very engaging style. Maybe you could right a book cronicling rescues and releases.

    Sue

  5. Hi Joe! Loved the story and the pictures! Really love your pictures, have a few hanging on my wall! Maybe you could write a grant for us sometime!?!

  6. Thanks, everyone. I’m glad you liked the pics. I’m especially glad that you enjoyed my writing, because it doesn’t come that easy. It took me a week to write this post. Good thing I don’t do it for a living.
    As for the story itself, this is Janine’s story more than anyone else’s, except maybe the fox. Most of this post was based on an interview with Janine.
    That being said, it is a great story isn’t it? I love happy endings. JK

  7. She has a most happy grin in the shots you captured and looks like she is relishing every moment of her steps into freedom at last! I’m sure she was nervous too, but the spark in her eye is the most compelling feature as she looks to the future slinking through meadows and brush once again — hopefully avoiding hawks this time! Great work!

  9. Let us hope — but she looks like the size of Snickers and I wouldn’t want Snicks outside with a redtail around. Hide well, little vixen.

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