The most happiest fox in the world

February 24, 2014 • 2:50 pm

As you know, we don’t do d*gs here, but foxes are an exception because I consider them Honorary Cats. Reader Chris called my attention to this YouTube video featuring Dawn the fox. The notes:

This is Dawn, one of the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary’s 6 resident foxes that cannot be returned to the wild. The majority of animals we get in is injured wildlife that is aimed to be returned into the wild, however, Dawn was a young fox that was took into a dog rescue centre as the member of public that found her thought she was a dog! When they realised they bought her into us but it was too late, because she was too tame and this meant that she wouldn’t be able to look after herself in the wild. Dawn is not a pet, and we do not recommend any fox or wild animal as a pet.

But really, how can you think that a fox is a domestic dog? Look at it!

It also makes funny noises, answering a famous question.

30 thoughts on “The most happiest fox in the world”

  3. Just chatting to a friend who has met that fox.

    “They are often in town raising money, and the sanctuary is just down the road from my house”

    2. I’m a dog person , but Jerry and many here are not. It’s a quirk of this otherwise great site (I’m also a cat person).

      I take comfort in knowing that secretly this site does occasionally “do dogs” despite the forced taxonomic rationale of foxes as “honorary cats.” Otherwise there wouldn’t be a canid video posted above.

  6. …how on earth can you confuse that lad with a dog? Acknowledgedly young foxes are less expressively fox-like, but a dog kennel would hopefully know the difference?

  7. Are squirrels honorary cats too? What exactly is a certain biologist’s criteria for the title of Honorary Cat?

  10. There was a dog-raised fox where I grew up. He was orphaned by a forest fire in the late 50’s. A ranger took the kit to his parents, whose dog had recently whelped. As an adult, he acted like a dog. Barked when someone came to the door, sat on command and didn’t try to climb the chain link fence around the yard. Basically, he did what his adopted mother and litter mates did. He’d fetch a small ball and walk on a leash, too.

    Thanks for reminding me of him.

    1. If d*gs had religions, then this fox would have acquired the religion of it’s adoptive parents … because mammals (and possibly more groups) have a strongly selected-for propensity to acquire habits of behaviour and association (I hesitate to say “thought”, because that opens philosophical cans of worms) of the animals that give them care while they grow up.

  11. I would hope that it doesn’t get kept in that small cage for too long.
    Even d*gs deserve room to run around.

    1. On the positive side they eat voles which gnaw the bark on my apple trees. So I don’t try to discourage foxes in the neighborhood. But I know what it feels like to lose your chickens.

  14. “But really, how can you think that a fox is a domestic dog? Look at it!”

    It sure acts like a dog, and to my eyes looks a lot more like one than it does a cat, mink or raccoon. If someone is going to mistake it for anything, it’s going to be a dog.

    1. You must be new.
      Our esteemed host has written books on evolutionary biology including a textbook on speciation.
      He knows when to use ‘most happy’ and ‘happiest’ but is using ‘most happiest’ for effect.
      If you’re going to comment on someone’s use of English you might want to hang around a while first.
      Oh yeah, if you’re going to comment on someone’s use of English you might want to lose all the exclamation marks.
      It’s a sure sign of a tosser.

    1. Foxes are strangely friendly. Our family friend has them visit him & one didn’t allow him to pet her but she did mouth his hand. This is a wild animal too!

  17. A good place to recall the Belyaev experiments. Interesting how this fox demonstrates naturally occurring diversity in traits associated with domestication.

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