Starving fox adopted by animal rescue leaves staff in tears as he makes new friend
A platinum fox who was "starving" and kept "in poor conditions" has been rescued by a Black Country animal sanctuary.
Brockswood Animal Rescue saved Toby from terrible conditions which left him riddled with mange and suffering from face lacerations.
He was also starving and his mate had heartbreakingly passed away, leaving Toby on his own.
But now, Toby has found his forever home at the Sedgley animal rescue and is getting on well with Brockswood's other resident fox, Freya.
Their relationship has left Brockswood's staff with tears in their eyes watching the adorable pair snuggle up and play together.
A member of the team at Brockswood said: "It's a pleasure to introduce you to our new friend, Toby. He needed a lot of initial treatment and TLC but he eventually started to heal.
"As he healed, it began clear that he needed a safe new forever home where he would never have to worry about such neglect again.
"We had high hopes that we might be able to introduce him to Freya and that a new friendship might form, with a new start for both of them!
"You'll be pleased to hear the introduction was an almost instant success - Toby instantly started investigating his new home, and Freya was very excited to meet him.
"There was a settling period over the next couple of days where she established that she would be in charge as she got used to the idea that he was obviously moving in for good, and since they have got along really well!
"We've watched with tears in our eyes as they have happily snuggled up together, played, and even happily shared food - the one thing we were concerned may cause squabbles, especially as Toby is very food motivated after being starved for so long in the past.
"We'll keep you updated as their friendship grows!"
Brockswood is now fundraising for a new enclosure for the pair which they estimate will cost more than £3,000.
A keeper at the rescue said: "Freya’s current habitat was always meant to be temporary – it was an empty enclosure created for another animal, available to us in an emergency, and used always with the intention of creating something more permanent for her in the future.
"Although not quite what we wanted, she settled, and it bought us a little time. Now this project must move to the very top of our list."
The new enclosure will be more spacious and with greater height, so the foxes can jump and climb, and will be as naturalistic as possible so they can happily dig.
A Brockswood spokesperson added: "There will be a warm, secure shelter – these animals are equipped with thick fur coats in the winter, but there’s no harm in having the option of extra comfort if they want it, and we must remember that as they become older in the future, they may be more grateful of these extra comforts.
"We try to consider all eventualities with our new builds, as we make it the sanctuary they deserve.
"We also build in considerations for our team so that they can easily take care of them – with our new builds created from scratch, we can factor in important features such as drainage, plumbing for water, electrics, etc.
"We also consider you and what you might like to see, and what would help you as a visitor. So, we would love to hear your thoughts!
"Most of all, we would love your help. We won’t have a complete idea of costs until we have a finished design, location, and obtained quotes for materials; but we have a good idea that it will cost us in excess of £3,000. Are you in?"
For more information on the project and to donate, go to brockswood.org.uk/foxhomeproject.
