Thanks to some goalkeeping from Dartmouth Animal Control, an abandoned grey fox kit has another chance at life after getting rescued from a net in town over the weekend.

According to a Facebook post from the New England Wildlife Center’s Cape Cod branch, the young fox likely went into the net while trying to chase down some prey, noting that small rodents will sometimes gather at the base of these nets for cover.

The post stated that an animal control officer was able to untangle him and take the fox to the wildlife center so vets could assess his injuries, including deep lacerations around his neck and shoulders.

“Luckily he did not break any bones, and the skin looked healthy enough to be sutured closed,” the post read.

The Cape center’s executive director Zak Mertz said that so far, the six-week-old fox has been recovering well.

“He looks really bright and alert,” he noted. “As of today, things look good — he’s on the road to healing.” 

As part of the kit’s recovery, Mertz said the center will try to provide daily enrichment activities such as clearing obstacles and searching for mice staff have hidden in order to get acclimated to an eventual return to the wild.

Currently, the fox is kept in a small cage so as to not reopen any wounds.

Once healthy enough, Mertz noted that the kit will move into a larger room and eventually an outdoor enclosure with trees and logs and other “fox stuff” to climb and keep the orphan entertained. 

“When you deal with these guys, you need a lot of climbing structures so they can practice these skills that their parents would normally teach them,” he added.

The post noted that since the kit is too young to live on its own, he will be paired with a fellow fox who was rescued in Weymouth the same day “for the remainder of their treatment” and will together be released into the wild this fall. 

“They are essentially saving each other's lives,” Mertz said. “We got really lucky that we got two on the same day to give them a chance together.”