RIP Little Man

[Arigmaster]

Been having a very tough week. I had to say goodbye to my little buddy "Radar" this past week. He was hurt in a freak accident here at home and I had no choice but to euphemize him. It was so hard to do and I can't even say how much I miss him.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd160/Datrueheart/Radar5.jpg

RIP little buddy :crying

[-stew-]

Sorry to hear that. What kind of dog?

[Prince Valiant]

sorry for your loss...what kind of fox was he? How did you come upon him?

[VroomPshhTsi]

Looks like a Fennec Fox to me. Very rare (obviously not from around here). I saw one for sale on CL a couple months ago and didn't know they could even be kept as pets (most exotic animals/wildlife are illegal to keep as pets). But I found this from Wiki:

The Fennec Fox is bred commercially as an exotic house pet.[5] Breeders tend to remove the young kits from the mother to hand-rear, as tamer and more handleable foxes make better pets and are therefore considered more valuable.[10]

The species is classified a "Small wild/exotic canid" by the United States Department of Agriculture, along with the Coyote, Dingo, Jackal, and Arctic Fox,[19] and is considered the only species of fox, other than the domesticated silver fox, which can properly be kept as a pet. Although it cannot be considered domesticated, it can be kept in a domestic setting similar to dogs or cats.[20] A breeders' registry has been set up in the USA to avoid any problems associated with inbreeding.[10] The legality of owning a Fennec Fox varies by jurisdiction, as with many exotic pets.[21][22]



Sorry to hear about your loss. How old was he?

[VroomPshhTsi]

What kind of dog?

Seriously?

[SCHM1AN]

Sorry for your loss ... although you've piqued my interest in owning a fox as a pet

[BR3W CITY]

aww too bad, neat little creature.

[Yooformula]

sorry about your loss. how long did you have him for?

[SmokinRAM114]

Sorry about the loss. :/ cute little thing, I kinda want one

[Todd Z]

Sorry for your loss. A pet is more than a pet to most people but part of the family. Also interested to know a bit more about him.

[Holeshot]

Sorry for your loss. Cute lil fella

[Voodoo Chick]

So sorry for your loss. He was very pretty.

[TheRX7Project]

That sucks man he is cute

[michelle]

Very sorry to read. I'm sure he had a great life.

[Arigmaster]

Yes he was a Fennec Fox, and he was the same one from CL. I have had many wild animals over the years prior to moving into Milwaukee County. I have had wolves, bobcats, foxes, a cougar, and even a ring-tail lemur. Every animal I have ever had came to me due to rescue or re-homing through owner surrender. In some instances I have provided foster homing and rehab for some domestic animals who would have otherwise been put down.

I do hold a Wisconsin Class III DNR Game Permit which was helpful when getting the blessing on the little guy with MADACC. He was also blessed off by the City but I was still working on the blessing from the WA Health Dept.

His USDA Health Cert. came the day after I lost him from the mishap. I can say he was wonderful to have at home. Very gental, playful, and very affectionate. He was litter box trained and ate cat food but it was necessary to suppliment his diet to bring his calcium and torrine levels where they need to be.

However, he was very much still a wild animal. He slept most of the time and his clock adjusted to mine. When he was out of his cage... I can only describe him as a mix between a Squirrel and a Chihuahua stricken with ADHD.

These little ones are very small when full grown as you can see in the picture. I can't even tell you how much I miss him already. I picked up his ashes yesterday.

[FoxStang]

Just learned about them because I was googling Fenncec Fox (Firefox for mobile phones), neat animals. Sorry to hear about your loss, how did you end up getting one?

[b4mytm]

So sorry about your loss. He was so cute. Rest in Peace Radar...

[spooln30]

Sorry for your loss. If you don't mind, how was he as a house pet? Very cute little guy. Again sorry for the loss.

Keith

[jamestown478]

so the city has to approve of you having one of these as a pet?

[-stew-]

Seriously?
Problem?

[Arigmaster]

In order to have any exotic pet it's mandatory that you check your local ordinances where you live. Ignoring them can result in heavy fines (some being 10K+) and having the animal seized and in some cases euphanized.

In Wisconsin, you do not need any permits to own a fox however, some counties and local juridictions do have ordinances against keeping livestock and wild animals. Milwaukee county and WA both have such ordinances.

However, depending on the animal and the person there have been acceptions made. This does not protct you however from the conditions surrounding keeping such animals. In other words, If Radar ever bit another person or pet and it was reported to the athorities... They would have to follow protocal as they would with any other wild animal bite. The animal would be destroyed and the remains sent to Madison for rabies testing.

It was a month long process even with the permits I had with Wisconsin to obtain the approvals. I was one step away but then this happened. IMOHO, I think these little ones make wonderful pets however, I still believe that "wild animals belong in the wild" and "livestock animals belong on a farm."

It doesn't matter if it's exotic or domestic... There is no such thing as a bad pet. Only a bad owner. I only say this because there are so many people who don't think things through and expect certain things out of animals. When it doesn't happen... It's always the animal that suffers in some way. I'll get off my soap box now with that.

What happened with Radar was very sad, unfortunate, and heart breaking for me. I have no plans to get another fennec. I ended up with him by mutual choice between his previous owner and myself only because of the background I have, and the situation he was in prior. Both of us were thinking only about his best interests and sometimes bad things can happen regardless.

All I can really add is that anyone thinking about owning a fennec really needs to do their homework first. Understand their behavior, diet, health, and facility needs, before you even try to get one. Most important... Check into your local jurisdictions as well. Just like domestic animals, I have seen too many occasions where prople would get an animal based on the cuteness factor and not think of the responsibilities or long term needs of the animal. This was the same issue his previous owner had when he was looking to re-home him on CL. Tons of calls from people with no clue thinking that money would drive his decision.

That being said, there are several domestic breeders in the US. The waiting list for fennecs is 2 to 3 years and the cost is anywhere between 12 hundred up to 28 hundred dollars. (based on gender, breeder, and availability) So, if you are still looking to get one... Think very hard about it, do your homework and leg work first. Also, make sure you have a Vet wo takes care of exotics as well. I was very lucky to already have one who used to Vet my other wild animals but she will be retiring soon.

[VroomPshhTsi]

^ Could not have put it any better. Way too many people get a pet on a snap decision. Getting a pet is a huge investment of time and money. There are way too many ads on Craigslist "I don't have the time for him any more." Sad, but people are assholes. Glad to hear you are far from this kind of person.

My girlfriend is a wildlife rehabilitator. She always stresses wildlife don't make good pets and should never be pets.

[VroomPshhTsi]

Problem?

If you honestly thought that is a dog then yes, that is a problem lol.

[michelle]

^ Could not have put it any better. Way too many people get a pet on a snap decision. Getting a pet is a huge investment of time and money. There are way too many ads on Craigslist "I don't have the time for him any more." Sad, but people are assholes. Glad to hear you are far from this kind of person.

My girlfriend is a wildlife rehabilitator. She always stresses wildlife don't make good pets and should never be pets.

A+++++ post.

[Gregor]

My wife teared up a little when she saw the post. That looked like a awesome companion.

It is also great that you foster other animals. We will be picking up a dog by next spring from the pound. I was concerned about being declined because of my work hours, but our Vet wrote us a letter of recommendation for adoption. Don't know if that's going to help us.

Sorry for your loss.

[Slow5oh]

sorry for your loss. Hate losing pets :(

[Arigmaster]

My wife teared up a little when she saw the post. That looked like a awesome companion.

It is also great that you foster other animals. We will be picking up a dog by next spring from the pound. I was concerned about being declined because of my work hours, but our Vet wrote us a letter of recommendation for adoption. Don't know if that's going to help us.

Sorry for your loss.

Thanks very much... Another source you may want to consider is some of the breed rescue groups. The one I fostered and did re-hab for was Playing again Sams of Wisconsin. I know that everyone has a preference on what kind of dog they like but the rescue groups will allow you to find animals both in shelters as well as in foster homes waiting for their forever home.

Many of them post their available dogs on Petfinder.com I have had many different dogs growing up and over the years but I have never met a more gental, sociable, and sweet personality then a Samoyed. The only down side is the fur. Very high maint. But over the years I saved it for a lady who spun it into yarn and made gloves, hats and sweaters. All the money she made from it went directly to the rescue group.

[lordairgtar]

Very true of the sammies. Often called a Christmas dog. An old friend breeds these out in California and these dogs are indeed sweet. And yes, they are one of the few dogs where fur can be saved and spun into yarn. Constant grooming for these. A smaller version is called an American Eskimo, kind of a toy to medium sized dog.

[Gregor]

Thanks very much... Another source you may want to consider is some of the breed rescue groups. The one I fostered and did re-hab for was Playing again Sams of Wisconsin. I know that everyone has a preference on what kind of dog they like but the rescue groups will allow you to find animals both in shelters as well as in foster homes waiting for their forever home.

We are looking for a Great Dane. Big dog that's like me and just likes hanging out and crashing on the sofa watching TV. I found a rescue but they don't foster in WI.

[michelle]

We are looking for a Great Dane. Big dog that's like me and just likes hanging out and crashing on the sofa watching TV. I found a rescue but they don't foster in WI.

I am a volunteer for the Upper Midwest Great Dane rescue.

http://thegreatdanerescue.com

If you are interested in any of the GDs on that website, let me know. I can let them know I can do the home visit and such. I highly recommend Sophie, as she stayed with me for a bit before going to her foster home. I picked her up from her surrendering owner. If I didn't get my two fosters in, I would have driven to Iowa and picked her back up to be a member of our family.

[Gregor]

lol I was looking at Frodo....

[pOrk]

If you are seriously considering a dane I have a bunch of contacts in the dane rescue network as well...

[michelle]

lol I was looking at Frodo....

Did you fill out the application yet?

[Gregor]

Still soul searching about this yet. Its a life changing decision and as Arigmaster said its something not to take lightly. lets take this to PM's so were not killing this guys thread.

Arigmaster sorry for hijacking your thread. I know your still hurting.

[97z2801ss]

We just had to do the same to our dog, he went yesterday he was getting eatin from the inside out it was a very ugly disease that stemed from the cancer he beat 7 years ago. It was a very sad day

[Arigmaster]

Thanks Gregor...

Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet. ~Colette