During a routine garden cleanup, Craig Mcgettrick and a coworker found what they thought were abandoned puppies under an old mattress. Uncertain about their identity, Mcgettrick took them to an animal rescue center, sharing their photos on Facebook for help. Martin Hemmington of the National Fox Welfare Society saw the pictures and, with the help of local rescuer Paul McDonald, realized they were actually fox cubs, not puppies.
Fox cubs resemble puppies, and their mother had used the mattress as a den. McDonald carefully placed the cubs back where they were found, not feeding them to attract the mother. An hour later, the mother fox returned to retrieve her babies, one by one.
The heartwarming reunion left everyone involved delighted. It was a rescue and reunion that allowed nature to take its course, highlighting compassion, understanding, and the incredible bond between a mother and her cubs. In McDonald’s words, it was “the best kind of rescue” in his line of work.
