Rescue wild red fox

This was the year before last, when our family lived on a farm not far from Wicklow. In this peaceful country, there is an ancient logging road, and there are many wild animals. One winter evening, when my husband Mark and my eldest daughter Annie were walking outside, I suddenly heard a faint cry.

　　A young red fox, the color of autumn red maple leaves in the snow, struggles in a trap set illegally. Seeing us approaching, the little red fox arched its back in fear and jumped quickly into the air, but fell heavily to the ground unable to move.

　　"Baby, don't be afraid, your leg is broken." Annie said, "Let us help you!"

　　Mark took off his coat and gently covered the little red fox, and I took out its broken leg from the clip. I was worried that it would turn its head and bite me, but under Mark's coat it didn't resist. It was sore and scared, and its yellow eyes sparkled and stared at us without blinking. Annie held it cautiously on the way home, and we named it Sarah.

　　I am a veterinary assistant and have studied animal husbandry. When we took Sarah to the kitchen, an owl with frozen feet hanging from a harness in its cage looked at the newcomer; another bald eagle with a broken wing was leaning against the back of the sofa, watching us closely; and a caged mink, who nearly froze to death when we found it, sniffing deeply through the mesh; our house cat, with straight hair, was very alert.

　　Mark sat on the table firmly clamping Sarah's head, and I was about to attach its broken leg. Our three children also gathered around, "It's a little princess." Five-year-old Carl was surprised. "Don't hurt it," seven-year-old Anna said softly. "Sarah, don't be afraid, you can do it!" Nine-year-old Annie stroked Sarah's golden head.

　　Mark soaked the cotton balls in ether, which was used as an anesthetic. I tried to fit the broken bones as well as possible. It took several hours after the operation before Sarah's eyes moved and opened. "Mom, let me nurse Sarah!" Annie said, holding the cage in both hands and entering her room with Sarah. The next morning, Sarah lay on her side on a pink, fluffy blanket, breathing evenly.

　　However, one morning, two days after the operation, we found out that things were bad. At night Sarah tried frantically to bite off the splint on her leg while Annie was asleep. As a result, a broken bone got stuck in the bottom of the cage and couldn't move. Mark checked and said: "There is no way to repair it, only surgery." Mark and I were busy for a while, quickly sawing off its broken leg. It was not until the early hours of the next day that Sarah slowly woke up. I brought a towel, soaked it in cold water and squeezed it into its mouth, while Mark and I took turns looking after it. The next day, Anne, Anna, and Carl stayed by Sarah's side all day, leaving only when eating and going to the toilet.

　　After a few days, Sarah finally stood up. We never closed its cage door, but it just looked around and didn't want to come out. But one night, I woke up and clearly heard it walking softly on the floor of our bedroom, then felt a cold nose rubbing against my hand, and then I heard it walk down the hall to the children's room.

　　Soon the cage seemed to be its room, where it cleaned its fur and hid its food under the rug. It seems to regard the pink rug as its own property, and sometimes it goes to sleep by the fire with the rug in its arms, when all we see is a pink blob.

　　Sarah can move around freely now, and if we get too close to it, it will run away. Its favorite toy is one of Annie's old gloves. It sneaks up on the target, then swoops at it, grabs it and throws it into the air, then catches it.

　　Before I knew it, eight weeks had passed, and the breeding season was only a few months away, and Sarah needed to find her mate and have her own home. But before releasing it into the wilderness, Mark and I had to figure out if it could catch its prey.

　　One night, Mark put a chicken in the kitchen as a sacrifice and told Annie not to prompt it. But Sarah didn't even move, and I went to bed disappointed. But the next morning, we found Sarah lying in a cage with a pile of leftover chicken bones under the rug.

　　Now it can't stay at home anymore, its restlessness is increasing day by day, and at night it paces up and down the house, looking out the window from time to time.

　　"Looks like I don't have an excuse to keep it anymore," Annie said regretfully. One night we found Sarah slapping the door with her paws and sniffing the air outside through the crack of the door. We knew it was time for Sarah to go. Slowly, I opened the door, but Sarah came to the door and folded back.

　　For five nights like this, Sarah went back and forth in front of the door. On the sixth night, Sarah was still going back and forth in front of the door. "Let's go," Annie, who least wanted Sarah to leave, said with tears in her eyes, "Let's go, Sarah! You can do it!" At this time, our Sarah finally got up the courage to go out, printed on the snow A series of three-legged footprints disappeared into the woods.

　　The family was mixed with joy and sorrow, and Mark and I hurriedly carried the cage outside - in case it came back at night. Annie and Anna brought Sarah's pink blanket, along with some bones, some food, and her favorite glove. The next morning, we couldn't wait to come out and check: half of the food was eaten, and the rest was hidden under the rug, with the footprints of Sarah's three feet clearly printed in the snow.

　　For three weeks, Sarah came back every day to eat an egg we had prepared for her. For three weeks, he took away the gloves and bones one by one. Suddenly one day, we found a grouse in the cage that had just been bitten to death. Annie turned her head to me and said, "Mom, it's alright!" Another night, Sarah removed the rug again. We know: even though it lives nearby, this will be the last time it will be in the cage.

　　In June, we had to migrate as a family. On the day we left, Sarah sat down by the ancient road and looked at us. It was covered in summer fur and looked healthy. "Sarah, you are awesome!" Annie stroked it happily. I stopped the car to say goodbye to it one last time, "Sarah, take care!" Sarah responded with two "coughs", eyes wet. At this moment, Sarah suddenly stood up, swayed her right front paw at Annie, then turned and ran away.