fox resting ? on shoulder of Parham Rd VA

[ManyDogs]

Hi All,
I was in Richmond for a long weekend (shopping! Ukrops! ) and while driving on Parham Rd going N towards Brook Rd I saw a gray/red fox on the shoulder of the road. At first I thought he had been hit but his head was up, he didn’t seem to be in pain, but his body looked kind of funny, like he was lying down on his side but gazing about and looked very normal from the neck up. Now, would you think a fox would be relaxing this close to the road, or do you think maybe he was hit, perhaps had a back injury, and was paralyzed? It was just so weird. Groundhogs on the side of the road, yeah, deer, yeah, but a fox?

And, on the way home, I stopped at Dover across from the VA Horse Center and found my 4 horse trailer-an Eby with the center and back ramp. Ahhh, it was loverly, until I went home and found out how much those cost. :eek:
Still want one, though. :winkgrin:

[Beverley]

Based on your description, I would say he was hit and seriously injured, thus unable to move. I’ve seen a few deer in that condition too.

[harveyhorses]

Too sad

Sounds like this one was hit and unable to move.
I have seen three foxes hit on the road in the last week. One was right next to Forest Hill park. I did a double take, and yes it was a fox, but very dead. The other two were a little more in the country, but not by much. At least we have a live one in my neighborhood. Just hope my cats don’t mess with it/them.
Trailer dreaming, ahhh, those price tags just have to smack you back to reality. :eek:

[SmokenMirrors]

Do any of you ever stop to see if the animal in question is hurt? I know we do, and yes I know how dangerous it can be. However…about 6 months ago some yahoo hit a rather large doe and left her, she was across the road in the middle and it was dark. As my husband I came up on the hill she was on we almost hit her and went off the road then back on. Because of where she was laying we went back to move her and…she was very much alive but badly hurt. Long story short, the police refused to let my husband shoot her, she was trying to drag herself into the brush as he did get her off the road and took a good half hour to get there. The few times I have hit something I went back to make sure it was dead, I don’t believe in letting it lay there in pain.

Another time I watched a guy hit a rather large coon and continue on their merry way. I went back, got a large box and got that now pissed off, head injured coon into the box then drove it way out in the brush and let him go. No one wanted to help too, saying oh sorry it is hurt but they are a nuisance and nothing we can do. BS I say. Lazy. I too carry a pistol and if I had to I would put the animal out of its misery instead of leaving it there.

Sorry to be so rabid about it, it just really makes me ill that no one wants to take a few extra moments out of their day to see if the animal needs help.

[ManyDogs]

Belplosh,
I agree with you. My first thought was to stop, but by the time it had registered I was down the road. Yes, Parham is quite busy and it would be dangerous. I was 5 hours from home, was up in Richmond taking care of my sister who had surgery two days before, and I also wondered if the fox had rabies. It was just so odd but he looked like he was enjoying the nice weather.
That’s why I posted here, to see what everyone else thought.

[SmokenMirrors]

Hope your sister is better…

I still would of stopped…but that is me. I am sure you too and others, have seen people not even care what goes on or how badly the animal was hurt. That doe really upset me that night, even when the hubby was trying to drag her out of the road, no one stopped till I went in the road and made them stop.

[starkissed]

my guess is he had a spinal injury and couldnt move.
I usually always stop. Most of the time you dont have to worry about stuff like rabies.
Even if it can’t be saved, if I can in any way put it out of its misery I will

[JSwan]

We’ve had to dispatch animals hit in front of our house. People hit them and keep on going. Usually it’s deer. Smaller animals usually die on impact or within a few seconds or minutes. I usually shoot them, but once I stopped to render assistance at a one car accident. The driver was ok - but pissed about his car. I stopped along with two locals who also hunted. We started to look for the deer in case it needed to be euthanized. We found her but none of us had a firearm - so one of the guys cut her throat. (I couldn’t do it.) She passed within seconds. We were all disgusted by the behavior of the driver - we could hear him cursing about his “ride”.

If the road is empty and it is safe to pull over, I do so. I even stop for turtles and carry them across the road. Except for big snapping turtles - those I prod with a stick.

Yes, I know it’s silly and not exactly the image of the big tough foxhunter. Oh well. I can’t leave an animal to fend for itself in the middle or on the side of the road. Especially turtles… I mean… really. They have no chance.

Poor fox, I hope he passed quickly.

[ManyDogs]

JSwan, I pick up earthworms off of sidewalks and parking lots and put them in the dirt-a result of (thankfully) a childhood playing in the creeks and woods and shooting cap guns instead of messin’ with Barbie dolls. :lol::lol:
But rats, mice, and June Bugs? I turn into a shrieking girly girl. :winkgrin:

[CBudFrggy]

[QUOTE=JSwan;3991101]
We’ve had to dispatch animals hit in front of our house. People hit them and keep on going. Usually it’s deer. Smaller animals usually die on impact or within a few seconds or minutes. I usually shoot them, but once I stopped to render assistance at a one car accident. The driver was ok - but pissed about his car. I stopped along with two locals who also hunted. We started to look for the deer in case it needed to be euthanized. We found her but none of us had a firearm - so one of the guys cut her throat. (I couldn’t do it.) She passed within seconds. We were all disgusted by the behavior of the driver - we could hear him cursing about his “ride”.

If the road is empty and it is safe to pull over, I do so. I even stop for turtles and carry them across the road. Except for big snapping turtles - those I prod with a stick.

Yes, I know it’s silly and not exactly the image of the big tough foxhunter. Oh well. I can’t leave an animal to fend for itself in the middle or on the side of the road. Especially turtles… I mean… really. They have no chance.

Poor fox, I hope he passed quickly.[/QUOTE]

My secretary rescued a red-eared turtle from a 6-lane highway in front of our office a couple of weeks ago. She put him in a box for the afternoon, he had been hit by a car, but he bounced, took him home, and released him after watching him for 24 hours. I got a big kick out of it, b/c I would have done the same thing.

[SmokenMirrors]

Snapping turtles…yea…a friend of mine and I stopped this summer on a 4 lane road to get a rather large “turtle” out of the road. I had grabbed her bat as she thought it was a snapping turtle. Me being a bad ass thought I can grab it and get it to the side of the road, uh negative on that because as soon as my fingers curled around each side he whipped his ole snout around, snapped at me and hissed!! So I eased the bat on his butt and with that and my foot scooted ole hissy pants across the rest of the road then shoved him down the embankment where he slid and hit the creek…

I too stop for the small box turtles and other various turtles that are in the road and can’t move quickly. Bring them home and my son lets them go in our back pasture by the smaller creek we have or where they can’t get hurt.

When I run rescue at night, there have been times I am headed to the rescue squad and a critter will decide it is time to dart across. Once it was a skunk and because I didn’t want to hit the break I went over her, raised my feet. My daughter, who ran rescue with me, started laughing because she said it wouldn’t of helped if I had hit her. I didn’t thankfully.

[hb]

@Belplosh;3990526

…she was very much alive but badly hurt. Long story short, the police refused to let my husband shoot her, pistol and if I had to I would put the animal out of its misery instead of leaving it there.

Why wouldn’t the police let him shoot her?

I few months back I saw a doe hobbling down the meridian and a county cop following after her with his gun and a very sad look on his face. His car was pulled over a hundred yards or so up. It was clear he was going to put her out of her misery and get rid of a safety hazard for the passing cars.

[Jaegermonster]

[QUOTE=hb;4014381]
Why wouldn’t the police let him shoot her?

.[/QUOTE]
and an even better question is why did you even ask? If it’s not hunting season the police have to tell you no. We can’t authorize you to do something illegal no matter what the reason. But if you just take care of business and be on your way, well…
A lady called the other day for the same thing and of course we had to tell her no, I don’t know why she didn’t just do what needed to be done and be on her way.

Glad to see I am not alone, there are other suckers here too. I am a turtle saver, and I have stopped for numerous deer and other critters that were badly injured and put them out of their misery, both on duty and off.
If’ I’m working, I use my personal gun so I don’t have to account for the bullets.