Buddy, the famous Yukon fox once thought to be a dog, has died
CBC
Almost 10 years after a case of mistaken identity that made international headlines, the Yukon Wildlife Preserve has laid to rest the red fox affectionately known as Buddy.
Discovered when it was days old, the tiny creature was initially thought it to be a puppy — and briefly nursed by a Chihuahua — before becoming a crowd favourite at the preserve, and beyond.
The fox was found abandoned at Marsh Lake in 2014 by Yukoner Ralph Shopland.
Figuring it was a puppy, Shopland and his family took to Facebook to find a wet nurse.
Whitehorse resident Diana White took on that task, because her Chihuahua named Baby-Girl had just given birth.
"I kept looking at him. I'm going, 'This isn't a dog'.... Like I just knew it wasn't a dog," she said.
"I was like, 'I can try my dog and see what she does', because she had just given puppies a couple days before. She just laid there and let him suckle."
As the days passed, the little creature developed an "obvious" smell, and a little white tip on his tail.
Theories emerged it was a bear cub, an otter, a marten or a wolverine, White said.
Eventually, Yukon Wildlife Preserve staff concluded it was a fox kit, and offered to take the critter into their care.
Lindsay Caskenette was one of those staff.
"It was less than two weeks old when it came into our care. So it all happened in the pretty immediate days of this animal's life. When it's opened it eyes it was to humans," she said.
In the fox's first few months, Caskenette said the preserve's staff were focused on giving it the best chance of survival in the wild.
"We were trying, at that point, to ensure that staff were not spending too much time with it — only meeting its basic needs. But one of the basic needs of a small animal is nurture,... so it was a difficult balance," she said.
