Hopalong, one of our foxes, has been a worry for some time
As I have mentioned, I first noticed his state at the beginning of November.
He had always been a timid fox, peeping out from the undergrowth and checking if it was safe before emerging fully toi feed.
It was November, however, that I noticed that his coat looked manky and his tail sparse, and that he favoured his back right paw.
His coat and tail improved but his leg seemed to give him trouble and towards the end of November he was not even putting it down and soon the lower part of the leg appeared to be dangling and the paw did not reach the ground.
Yet he seemed to manage, even though he was often late to the table.
Towards the end of December he only appeared spasmodically and by Christmas and then the New Year he did not appear at all.
I feared the worst that either the leg had gone gangrenous or, that having difficulty getting around he had been hit by a vehicle or had been unable to get around and had died alone and hungry,
Then, joy of joy, a brief sight of him coming late to the table and then on Saturday he turned up, getting about easily on three legs, and arriving within half-an-hour of the food going out.
For the next 20 minutes he had a fine time picking lumps of meat and other tasty treats from the table, nipping off somewhere to eat it in peace before returning for seconds and thirds.
I still worry about him but whatever has happened to his leg he seems to have survived two months, and winter months at that, so I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed.
Robin's Nest 