When a concerned citizen spotted a litter of puppies trapped in a storm drain, he didn’t know what to do except to call the fire department for help.
Thankfully, committed firefighters are used to calls like this and always stand ready to lend a helping hand. They rushed to the scene, hoping they would be able to save the poor pups.
A Colorado Springs Fire Department crew safely rescued what were believed to be eight black puppies within a couple of minutes.
Imagine their surprise when they learned that these newborn puppies were, in fact, baby red foxes!
An Unexpected Surprise
Fire Captain, Brian Vaughan, told Inside Edition that the officials simply assumed they were “newborn black Labrador Retriever puppies and were actually worried about this case of dog dumping.”
They scanned the area, hoping to find the mom, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Following the rescue of the eight tiny animals from the storm drain, the firefighter team decided to take them to the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region for care.
It was there that everyone found out that the “puppies” they rescued were, in fact, baby red foxes.
“They took them [to the shelter] and actually one of the vets in that location said, ‘No, these aren’t Labradors, these are foxes,” Fire Captain Vaughn said. “[The firefighter] was just in shock.”
The eight pups were actually eight baby foxes with dark red fur!
The vet explained that “the neighborhood they found the baby foxes is in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, so foxes are actually very common in that area.”
The firefighters were completely shocked. It didn’t even cross their mind that the pups might not be puppies after all.
These firefighters in rescued what they thought were puppies from a storm drain… but it turns out they're red foxes!
— CBSColorado (@CBSNewsColorado) March 16, 2018
What to do now?
Reporter @AbeytaCBS4 shares the story: https://t.co/ubpMJjjj8h
(📹: Colorado Springs Fire Department) pic.twitter.com/Mksg0A0IJH
As for Travis Sauder, the Wildlife Manager for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife District, he was not surprised at all.
He told CBS News, “This time of year there are a lot of animals that are starting to have their young, and they have them in small dens that are places that we can encounter.”
Taking Care Of The Baby Foxes
Once they learned that the animals were actually baby red foxes, the officials brought them back to the storm drain, hoping that the mother would still be in the area.
Sadly, the mother did not return to retrieve her young, according to the animal clinic.
The foxes were then brought to The Animal Clinic of Woodland Park, in Colorado, where they would be rehabilitated.
“So yes, a litter of eight red fox kits was found in Colorado Springs and brought up to our great rehabber. Terri is losing sleep feeding them for hours, but so far, so good,” said the clinic on Facebook.
The foxes were all released back into the wild once they were big enough and able to take care of themselves.