FOX
Sex/colour: Female Red
D.O.B: approx 2008 to 2009
Breed: Bull Lurcher poss mix of Greyhound or Saluki
(crossed with large Bull breed, Staffy or Mastiff)
Came to AfG: April 2012
FOX was still at the stray kennels after her statutory time had ended.
We met Fox, shut down and curled up with her back to us ( with her rich
red fur,partly black tail and amber eyes) she resembled a frightened fox.
The dog warden had spent a lot of time trying to entice Fox to him as he
saw she was so timid and if he did not get her first time, she was
unlikely to come near him again.
She had been spotted regularly in a ladys garden who contacted the
warden and agreed for him to set up a trap in her garden.
Luckily ( when animals are so hungry they will be tempted to go for food
in a trap). Fox went for the food.
As soon as Fox was in the trap, the dog warden collected her.
We had a foster home for Fox with other rescued hounds but needed to
make sure she would be happy in their company.
As Fox had been signed to AfG we were able to take her on a short walk
so all hounds could be introduced to each other on neutral ground.
Luckily, Fox was not fearful or aggressive to the other hounds.
Fox traveled in the front of our vehicle but was spooked straight away
by the sound of the radio and air blower, ( both were switched off
straight away).
We realised dear Fox had been badly mistreated, not only by her body
condition, emaciated and with several scars, but also by her nervous
behavior.
Fox was given time to settle into her foster home as later in the day
she had a vet appointment.
The vet was upset by Fox condition and treated an infected wound on her
foot, with parasite treatment administered.
Fox weighed only 18kgs and judging by her broad head and chest, we felt
she was possibly at least 10kgs underweight.
Luckily Fox had a ravenous appetite and to build her up slowly she was
fed small meals little and often, making sure he had eaten the amount of
food she should have for her size, by the end of each day.
Once Fox condition had massively improved and no sign of her due to
start her menstrual cycle, she was neutered and had some dental work done.
The other hounds helped Fox gain her confidence and she was happy in her
home environment but when out on walks she was fearful of certain
noises, so we tried to let her get used to the outside world slowly
without forcing her to cope with anything which upset her.
Strangely, Fox was not fearful of traffic, fireworks or thunder but of
sellotape being pulled, people rustling crisp packets and the vibrating
noise of footballs being kicked around.
We considered this was likely caused by being in an area where gaffer
tape was being used (perhaps to tape dogs muzzles to stop them barking)
having crisp packets blown up and burst in front of her and footballs
being kicked at her.
It was clear Fox had not lived in a home or been well treated at any
time in her life and with scars over her body either had been hit or
bitten by other dogs.
As Fox was happy in her foster home in the company of the other hounds
and it would be sometime until her physical and mental health improved,
she was adopted by her foster carers.
Fox never had her carers far from her sight and was able to run free off
lead to enjoy her freedom.
It was unbelievable to see what a stunning hound she turned into.
It took such a long time for Fox to be used to the outside world but
eventually she was happy to often accompany AfG with other hounds on
some of our events.
This also helped her to realise that everyone she met would always be
kind to her.
We expect it took Fox a long time to realise she would never be hurt or
suffer again, so her past must have been just dreadful.
