I am convinced that Emma D’Sylva has a heart of gold. She rescued a four-month old fox cub when its original owners could no longer care for it. She named him Todd. Can anyone guess where she came up with the name? My guess would be from the 1981 Disney movie The Fox and the Hound. Todd was the name of the super cute fox in the movie. Not only does she have her fox, Todd, she has quite a few other furry friends that reside in her home. She is clearly an animal lover. Ms. D’Sylva’s home in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, is also home to a skunk, raccoon, lizards, and snakes. Personally I will take the fox over those other animals any day!
The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) said that it is not against the law to have a fox for a pet. They do warn that foxes are not domestic animals and would have the same needs that it would in the wild. So that is something to take into consideration. This is a rare case. So people will need to put a lot of thought into this before they run out and get a fox.
Todd goes for walks on a leash, and by the looks of it he has a fantastic time.
He pretty much thinks he is a dog. When out and about for walks, if people or dogs come up to him in the park he will lie down at first and freeze, but after a few seconds he will sniff around the dogs or sit patiently.
He tries to do what the dogs do but she isn’t able to let him off his leash due to the fact that he is deaf and would not be able to hear her call him to come back.
She said that at first he was really wild but he is getting more used to being in the company of other people now.
He is now 11 months old and after a lot of love and attention he has calmed down and is very affectionate.
Todd has been captive-bred so he has never been in the wild.
He is very playful with her. He will run up to her wagging his tail when she goes to feed him and he will roll over to have his belly tickled.
She takes many of her 40 animals to schools and care homes so children and the elderly can interact with them as well as learn about them.
He will come into the house but he has a special enclosure to meet his needs, and he much prefers being outside.
She got him a little plastic kennel in his enclosure with blankets which is similar to a dog bed
It is so clear just by looking at this that they love each other very much. They are very luck to have found each other!
So fluffy and adorable!
I started to wonder if having an adopted fox in the US was legal, so I found out that I could. All I would need is $8,000 and the approval of Kay Fedewa, the exclusive importer of domesticated foxes in the US. In 1959, a Soviet geneticist named Dmitry K. Belyaev began somewhat secretively experimenting with breeding domesticated foxes. More than five decades, thousands of foxes, and one collapse of the Soviet Union later, the program continues at The Institute of Cytology and Genetics at Novosibirsk, Siberia. Belyaev wanted to unlock the secrets of domestication, along with the links between behavior and breeding and physical traits.