the artful fox

Loki’s new collection of harnesses! I had these harnesses custom made for him by Diana at Fox Valley Dog Collars. H harnesses are the best type of harness for a fox and they are very difficult to find in bigger sizes, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and have a few made to fit Loki’s exact measurements. They are the nicest, highest quality harnesses I have ever bought.

Yes, all three harnesses have foxes on them. I’m a dork.

Photos by me.

(Source: theartfulfox)

It has been heating up here in Michigan! Loki and I have been spending a lot of our time outside. The bonfire we had a little while ago didn’t even phase him! On another note, have you ever seen a fox run through a sprinkler? I have. Its hilarious.

Photos by me.

(Source: theartfulfox)

One of the two girls that I watch, Jeannette, came over a few weeks ago and took some photos of Loki with her super amazing camera.

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There was such a positive response to Loki’s previous photoset that I decided to upload some more!

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Photos by Jeannette Hoffman

One of the two girls that I watch, Jeannette, came over a few weeks ago and took some photos of Loki with her super amazing camera. Here’s a few of them!

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Photos by Jeannette Hoffman

(Source: theartfulfox)

Loki the Silver Fox

2012-2013

(Source: theartfulfox)

One year ago today, I made the three-hour trip down to my fox-breeder-of-choice to pick up my four-and-a-half week old silver phase red fox kit that I named Loki.

 

I remember waking up bright and early, and leaving promptly at 8 AM to meet with my breeder at 11 AM. I remember my breeder pulling Loki out to hand to me. I remember my fear of not knowing how exactly to hold my brand new little scrap of fur. I remember the feeling of his tiny claws pricking into my skin.

And now today, Loki is a one-year-old ball of monstrous energy.

 

 

If you go back and read my blog post from day one, you can see some major differences. For instance, I had expressed that I wanted Loki to be a primarily indoor fox. Did that happen? No. Loki spends the majority of his time outside in his kennel. He does however sleep inside in his crate at night.

Despite my efforts, Loki also never completely litter trained. I am not sure if that was my fault or not. I tried my hardest. I tried out various litters, kept waste in the box, set up a litter box for the cats near his… I even tried dropping eucalyptus oil in his litter box. Obviously, none of these worked as well as I wanted. He does use his litter box inside around 80-90% of the time. But outside he doesn’t use his litter box at all.

Loki also retains some biteyness. While he has calmed down some with age, I have not been able to break him of his habit completely. Sometimes when I pet him, I get bit. Or when I hold him. Or when he is on my lap. I do get lots of foxy kisses, but I probably get more nips. Honestly, it is a little frustrating. They are generally little bites, but it is still undesirable behavior.

 

Last year, I bought Loki a spray collar that I never used. I never used it because the strappy collar was too thick for Loki’s tiny neck at the time. The spraying device was also too heavy for him. Loki and I are moving this fall, and now that he is full grown I think it is time to break out the spray collar in order to bite this bad behavior in the butt once and for all.

I think those are my main goals for this next year. I want Loki to use his litter box. I want Loki to stop biting. And I want Loki to be able to come indoors more, which will definitely be happening when we move in August. It will take a lot of time and effort, but I think we can do it. What about you?

 

 

This past year has been one hell of a ride. I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone. I feel like it was yesterday that Loki was keeping me awake with his constant shrieking. Unfortunately, this will be the last blog post that I number by day. It would be too hard to keep track of the days – it was hard enough keeping track up until Day 365!

I am also thinking about doing some product reviews, along with blogging about some things of Loki’s that I would recommend to other fox owners.

For example, I am currently testing out Blue Buffalo Naturally Fresh Quick Clumping Multi-Cat Litter. However, I have also used, Fresh Step, Tidy Cats Pure Nature, Cat Attract, and Yesterday’s news, so maybe just a review on the different litters in general would be better.

Would anyone be interested in that?

Anyway, on a more Loki-related note, yesterday he tore apart this pink ball that used to belong to my family’s dog, Bridgette. He has been playing with this ball for months without incidence, so I was not expecting this to happen. I found some of the pieces, but not all of them. This led me to believe that the other pieces were buried under the straw in his kennel, or that he ingested them.

I decided to wait it out to see if he could go to the bathroom okay, because if he could then I knew he would be okay. Unfortunately, I forgot to scoop his litter box last night so I am unsure if the waste inside was old or new. It does not help that he vomited this morning sometime between 9-10 AM, although it kind of looked like a hairball.

Because of this, I’ve been trying to induce some bowel movements. I know canned pumpkin can help with stools, so Loki has been getting quite a bit of that. I’ve also given him a bit of plain Greek yogurt with probiotics. Its hard to tell which waste is fresh and which is not in his kennel, but I recently found some rather orange feces, so I am assuming that it is fresh and colored the way it is because of the canned pumpkin.

I have scooped out his litter box inside the house, and if he does not defecate tonight, then I will be calling the vet to schedule an appointment. I don’t think it will come down to that, but I like to have a plan set in advance.

  

Well, I suppose that is all for now.

I look forward to sharing my stories and experiences during the next year with you all. Hopefully I can learn to update more, instead of the random mess of updates from this year. We will see.

Until next time!

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)

To My Readers:

Yesterday I received some terrible news. My friend Allyson’s fox, Umaro, had been hit by a car and passed away. Allyson got Umaro last year around the same time I got Loki, except he came from a breeder here in Michigan.

Umaro was vastly different from Loki, along with Loki’s brother Spirit. He was very aggressive from the moment Allyson brought him home. However, she did not give up on him, like some owners would. She worked and worked and worked with Umaro until she earned his trust and he became the animal he was at the time of his passing.

Allyson was and still is a fabulous fox owner. She worked with Umaro, unlike some people who would not be able to handle an aggressive fox and rehome them. She loved Umaro and he loved her back. I was horrified and devastated when I found out he had been killed. I cannot imagine the pain and devastation Allyson is going through. 

 

The details on what happened to Umaro are sketchy. Allyson went out of town for three days visiting her mother, and her ex-roommate waited until her boyfriend went off to work before breaking into their house. Along with letting Umaro out of the house, he stole some valuable items.

I doubt he realizes he stole the most precious thing of all.

Supposedly a police officer found Umaro’s body, but did not see any tags despite his collar and despite the fact that Allyson had just bought brand new bright gold tags for him days earlier. He apparently pushed Umaro’s body off to the side of the road and left.

Allyson and her boyfriend Andy searched and called around for anyone who had seen Umaro. When the police officer found out that Umaro belonged to Allyson, he went back to retrieve his body, but Umaro was already gone. Someone, probably a business owner, had disposed of him.

So now Allyson and Andy are left to grieve without proper closure. There will be no burials or cremations for little Umaro. What was bestowed upon their little family is horrible, and I hope you, my readers, will keep them in your thoughts in order to help send Umaro’s spirit across the rainbow bridge.

Rest in peace, little one.

You will forever be in our hearts and thoughts, and you have many friends waiting for you on the other side of the rainbow bridge.

Look for Fizzgig, you will be in good hands.

Thoughtfully yours,

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)

kiiwishes asked: Would a fox and a ferret get along well? Also related to the question I asked before, could you find out which province (if any) allows foxes?

No, absolutely not. A fox will see a ferret as prey and will most likely kill it. I wouldn’t even trust an itty bitty fennec fox with a ferret, much less a red, or a gray or an arctic. Foxes are known for their rough play. You are not even supposed to leave your fox and your cat unsupervised, because it is very, very possible that your fox will accidentally kill your cat. If you have a small dog, I probably wouldn’t leave them unsupervised either, just in case.

As for Canada, I believe British Columbia, New Brunswick and Quebec might allow foxes. In New Brunswick, cities are supposedly allowed to decide what animals are legal and illegal on their own. And as for Quebec, domestically colored foxes are supposedly allowed. Do not take my word for any of this.

On the other hand, British Columbia has a Controlled Alien Species list - red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), arctic foxes (Vulpes alopex), and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) are not listed - however, I am unsure if whether the CAS foxes are banned, or if those are the only ones you are allowed to have with a permit.

You will really have to look into the provincial laws yourself, but hopefully this gave you a starting point. And remember, no importing, period!

kiiwishes asked: I've been trying to figure out if owning a fox was legal where I live and I can't, would you be able to look it up for me? I live in Ottawa, Ontario Canada.

I am sorry to say but foxes are not legal in Canada. Your province may tell you otherwise, but foxes are not allowed to be imported into Canada on a federal level.

Here is the law:

Permits will not be issued for foxes, raccoons and skunks purchased for import to Canada as a personal pet.

Source

It is illegal to import a fox, and there are no breeders in Canada. There are fur farms, but it is illegal for a fur farm to sell to the public.

It’s not legal to buy, sell or posses a fox in Ontario, anyway:

It is contrary to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and Regulations To buy, sell or barter any game wildlife (furbearing mammals) or their parts, except under the authority of a license and as permitted by the regulations.

It is contrary to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and Regulations To keep live game wildlife in captivity (i.e., a zoo operated by a municipality holding native game wildlife or game wildlife retained in an institution for scientific or educational purposes) except under the authority of a license and in accordance with the regulations.

Source

They don’t have regulations allowing permits for pets, so you can’t have them as pets.

The only possible way to have a fox in Canada is to move out of the country, buy a fox in the US and then move back to Canada to a province in which they are legal. So, no Ontario. Situations like these are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The fox must also be fixed, up to date on all vaccinations, and must go through a quarantine of an unknown amount of time.

Probably not worth it.

Also, please note that there is a person who goes by the name of Luccistar online that is trying to breed and sell foxes in Quebec, Canada. Their business is called Tame The Wild and it is a scam. They also know next to nothing about foxes and give out false information. You can find out more about Luccistar, Tame The Wild and their scam here.

Yes, my friends, you read that title right. Today my wonderful foxy boy turned one year of age. I am stunned, awed, happy, sad, nostalgic… you name it. I am feeling so much today that it is crazy!

It is hard to believe that in just four-and-a-half more weeks, I will have had Loki for a year. I will be making a special blog post to commemorate that day. 

Anyway, today started out like any other day, except that instead of some kind of raw poultry, Loki got a steak for today’s raw meat. Originally he wasn’t going to get a special piece of meat, but I found six steaks in my freezer, so I thawed one out for him. Later my dad identified the steak as filet mignon. 

Present-wise, Loki got/is getting six Chuckit! balls. Chuckit! balls are his absolute favorite toys. I had to give him his two Chuckit! Ultra balls early because he finally destroyed his last Chuckit! ball. Today I gave him two Chuckit! Fetch balls, and I am currently waiting for my order of two Chuckit! Rebounce balls to ship to me. They are supposed to arrive on Friday.

Loki’s last present was also one he got early, and it was also his most expensive. I bought and set up a zip-line in my backyard on Saturday. I’ve been meaning to set up a zip-line for him for ages, but his birthday gave me the perfect opportunity to spend a lot of money on him.

  

For anyone that doesn’t know, a zip-line is a long length of cord that is secured between two trees or posts, with a trolley line that hangs down and connects to your dog. Or in my case, my fox.

 

 

Loki’s zip-line is 33 feet long and 8.75 feet in the air. I rigged the regular clip of the line with two extra quick snap clips so it connects to both his collar and his harness for extra safety. I’m lucky I did this because I actually had his collar too loose and it almost slipped over his head on me. I made sure to tighten his collar before he went back on the line again.

 

  

The first day using the line, Loki was really nervous and kept trying to run off in fear because he wasn’t used to the change. And, unlike other foxes, Loki does not like change at all.

 

Today is only the fourth day using the line, and Loki is running it like a pro already. He seems to know his boundaries and he only pulls when he is chasing a leaf or something similar. A sandhill crane flew over our heads while he was out today, and Loki was so excited and tried to chase after it.

 

Another thing I found out about Loki and his line is that he likes to follow me around. I don’t know if its because he is afraid and knows I am a source of safety, or because he really loves me and wants me around. I’d like to think it is the latter.

It is the cutest thing. If he is near one tree and I walk to the other tree, he takes off running to follow me once he looks up and sees me so far away. If he is next to me and I take off running, he immediately starts running to follow me.

 

As an experiment once, I started running, Loki started to follow me, and then I stopped. He ended up running past me before he jerked around and went back to where I was.

Obviously, I have been nailed with the trolley line more than once as a result.

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time with Loki today. I had class until noon, but then I had to start work at 3 PM and I won’t be back home until 11:30 PM. I am hoping to make it up to him on another day.

Its not like he actually knows its his birthday, ne?

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To my Michigan-dwelling followers:

For the past two weeks or so, I had been doing research on cities in Michigan that allow domestically colored foxes. First I would look through a city’s code of ordinances. If foxes or other wild animals were not explicitly banned and I saw no other problems, I would contact the city manger about the validity of MI ST 342.43101, also known as Act 451 of 1994 and “the domestication law.”

Within the past couple days, I got into an argument with Wyoming, Michigan’s chief building official. He was insisting that foxes were not domestic animals - by his own definition - and I demanded that he show me proof of this. He unfortunately could not and repeatedly ignored my request of proof and official documentation, so I decided to do more of my own research on the Michigan government, and I stumbled across a trump card.

It is MCLS § 117.4j, which states that municipalities have “authority to pass all laws and ordinances relating to its municipal concerns subject to the constitution and general laws of this state.” Emphasis added. This has been held by case law to mean that a municipality is not allowed to enact an ordinance if the ordinance is in direct conflict with statutory law and scheme (Sherman Bowling Center v Roosevelt Park (1986) 154 Mich App 576, 397 NW2d 839).

This is the law itself (the third on the list).

And this explains the law and lists the reference.

A city cannot dismiss statutory law. The ordinances a city enacts merely adds to state law and federal law. So, according to this, a municipality is not allowed to say that a domestically colored fox is not a domestic animal. However, my city has a set list of prohibited animals. Our code of ordinances does not list any animal as “wild,” but instead merely bans them without explanation. In a city like this, if foxes were listed, this trump card would not apply.

Here is a link to MI ST 324.43101 if anyone needs it. 

I hope this will be helpful to anyone who is having trouble with their city official or the deciphering of their city’s ordinances.

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See you next time, folks, and I hope you all have a happy Easter!

-J.P.

(Source: theartfulfox)