Md. Rescuers Save Baby Fox From Storm Drain

May 01--If you've ever heard a baby fox screaming for its mother on a dark spring night -- they can sound eerily human -- you probably won't wonder why a team of volunteer firefighters in Harford County was alerted to the howls of one trapped in a storm drain in Edgewood late Tuesday.

But thanks to the desperate pup's yipping plea for help, the furry redhead ended up getting a ride in a fire truck and spending the night with a bunch of firefighters at the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Station.

The firefighters, said the station in a news release about the event, are "tasked with protecting lives, not just human."

In an image accompanying the release, the young fox curls in a ball on the lap of a fully-outfitted fireman.

The crew located the pup in a storm drain in the 1700 block of Melwood Court after receiving a call at about 10 p.m.

"Firefighters donned their protective firefighting suits, climbed down a ladder and rescued the fox," the station said. "Once the fox was placed on the ground, it was noted that the animal walked with a limp and appeared to have an injured leg."

The kind-hearted firemen called Harford County Animal Control, the state Department of Natural Resources and "several local and regional veterinarians," with no luck.

So, with "the animal's health being in jeopardy," they took the pup back to the station and embarked on "an extensive online campaign" to use the Internet "to find help."

Eventually they got an employee at the Chadwell Animal Hospital in Abingdon on the phone, who gave them advice.

The firefighters kept the animal overnight and planned to deliver it to an "appropriate facility" Wednesday morning.

krector@baltsun.com

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