Craig McGetterick, a resident of New Brighton, was cleaning his yard when he stumbled upon a litter of newborn puppies hidden beneath a pile of trash.
Believing the tiny animals were lost or abandoned, he took them to the nearest animal shelter.
On his way, Craig shared photos and a post about the discovery on Facebook. Soon, thousands of messages flooded in, revealing an unexpected truth: he had accidentally destroyed a fox’s den!
Fox cubs at birth look remarkably similar to puppies, so it’s understandable that Craig mistook them for domestic animals.
Shelter workers confirmed this explanation.
Craig’s girlfriend, Becky, reached out to Martin Hemmington, founder of the National Fox Welfare Society, for guidance on what to do and why the fox mother had left her cubs in the apartment building’s garden.
Martin explained that fox mothers often leave their cubs alone while they hunt and that they gradually teach their young to be independent by taking longer trips away from the den.
Though the original fox den behind the rubbish pile was destroyed, Craig and the National Fox Protection Society worked to recreate a safe environment and returned the cubs to their original spot.
They avoided feeding the cubs, hoping their hunger would encourage the mother to return sooner.
Thankfully, she did come back!
Craig now hopes his unintended mistake won’t harm the fox family’s future.
To avoid frightening the cubs and to help them grow and eventually return to the wild, he stays out of the backyard as much as possible.
