19. WHY THROW AWAY A MATTRESS?
When Craig Mcgettrick from Liverpool, England, and his friend Beccie began their good deed in the park near his home, the pair had no idea their day would not be like any regular days! Craig and Beccie were ready to see a lot of odd things thrown in the park, but had no idea they would come across an old and dirty mattress!
The two got closer to the mattress, asking themselves who would throw a mattress on the middle of the park. They cautiously got closer to inspect it, wondering what weird things they would encounter near or under it. The lifted the mattress and looked under it. Craig saw something was moving there!
18. FIVE PUPPIES!
The pair was stunned to see that under that old mattress, the furry things that were moving were puppies! Five adorable brown puppies, all alone. Looking around, neither saw the mother and realized that he and Beccie would be the only ones that could help these pups. So, Craig and Beccie decided…
17. TAKING PHOTOS
Before acting, the two decided to take some photos of the puppies to post photos on social media just in case people would respond and tell them if they knew something about this litter. After taking the photos, they took the baby animals to safety and placed them in a plastic box.
16. UPLOADED THE PHOTOS ONLINE
After all the pups were placed in the box on a blanket, the rescuers went to Freshfields Animal Rescue so that doctors would check if the pups needed medical attention. Meanwhile, Craig posted the photos online, and they were spread all over the Internet. People started to react, and some of them had some interesting questions…
15. THOSE ARE NOT DOGS!
Many people reacted, saying that the pups Beccie and Craig found were not dogs! They were, in fact, baby foxes! Puzzled, the two called the founder of the National Fox Welfare Society, Martin Hemmington, and Beccie sent him the photos to get a professional’s opinion. Here is his reaction…
14. THEY ARE FOXES!
“Beccie had sent a few photos asking if the babies in the photos were indeed fox cubs,” Martin explained in a Facebook post. Were they baby foxes and if yes, were they abandoned by their mom under that mattress? Martin said that Beccie notified him that they took the puppies to the rescue center.
13. THE FOX DEN
“Beccie advised us that they had been taken to a rescue center in Liverpool mistakenly as puppies, not fox cubs,” added Martin in his post. So these pups were indeed foxes, but what would happen to them now?
A staff member at Freshfields Animal Rescue, Paul McDonald, had a theory that the mattress was the fox den…
12. WE SHOULD HELP THE PUPS
Paul explained that “vixens leave their cubs all the time whilst they are in the den,” adding that babies get older and start to “explore their surroundings more and more, and become less dependent on mum.” Probably, in this case, the mom went to look for food and left her cubs safe in the den. Now what?
11. REUNITING THE BABIES WITH THE MOM
These pups looked too young to be abandoned by their mom, so Beccie and Craig probably thought they would help, but actually separated the cubs from their mom. These babies need their mom and Paul, and a volunteer went to finish the rescue mission and reunite the foxes…
10. A GREAT PLAN!
Paul and the volunteer took the babies back in the park. He also didn’t feed the babies: “I didn’t give the cubs any milk in order for them to be hungry so they’d cry out and call for their mum.” And the plan was successful! The babies started to cry out…
9. WORTH THE SHOT
“I put them around the same place they were found, as I knew the mum would be looking for them,” explained Paul. He knew she should come and check the surrounding area, but was it too late? Were the kits gone from the den for too many hours? Paul would have to learn it the hard way.
8. THE MOM CAME!
After placing the cubs in a box that also had a warm water bottle to keep them warm and cozy, the cubs started crying for their mom. It was a long one hour until a fox approached the box, said Paul. She picked one of them and saw the others were safe in the box. The vixen went away with that one cub…
7. SHE TOOK ALL OF HER BABIES
Hours passed, and she didn’t return! Then, after a while, she was back! Paul said that maybe she “waited until it got dark to get the rest as she must not have felt safe moving the cubs in daylight.” It was 7 o’clock, and after a few hours, the reunion was successful! All the babies were back with their mom!
6. HUNGRY AND SCREAMING FOR MOMMY
They were so hungry that it made mom’s job easier and she found them! Now the fox family has been reunited thanks to the people that returned them. In an interview, Paul explained that as he was watching the mother approaching the box, he notified Beccie and Craig. Here’s what they said at #5
5. A HAPPY ENDING
Paul said that “all through this, I was letting Beccie and Craig know, and everyone was so pleased that the cubs were back where they belonged … with mum!” This story has a happy ending because Craig and Beccie were thoughtful and Paul’s expertise was perfect!
4. THE CUBS ARE SAFE
We hope that this fox family finds a better den that doesn’t come with an old mattress! Paul said that if the cubs didn’t go back to their mom, it would have “been a tragedy not only for the cubs not being brought up by their own mother, but for the mother to lose her cubs.”
3. A GREAT RESCUE
“This is without a doubt the best kind of rescue in my line of work, when nature is allowed to take its own course,” concluded Paul. It was indeed a great rescue, considering every animal was now safe and the family got reunited.
2. HOW TO HELP ANIMALS?
If you love helping animals and think one needs help, first observe them and then move them – especially when it comes to baby animals. Some animals leave their babies for a little while to hunt for food…
1. MAKE SURE THEY'RE ABANDONED
If you see animals that seem abandoned, make sure they’re not really alone before you move them. This way, you won’t have to end up reuniting them with their moms like this case with the fox cubs. Nonetheless, we are all happy that they’re all together, and now Craig and Beccie learned a few things about how fox cubs look!