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I have often believed in the philosophy of “ Moments
of Joy.” And I would like to share this particular one with you.
My husband and I had been out one weekend to a
wild life sanctuary, taking lots of pictures of the different kind of birds. Later that evening relaxing in the lounge, we
were chatting about the day and enjoying a glass of red wine. The back door was open as we were waiting for our two Siamese
cat’s Mia and George to come in from the garden. After a short while they both strolled in, jumped into their hammock
and cuddled down to sleep.
What happened next was so amazing that I still can’t believe
it happened. In the open door to our sitting room stood the most beautiful vixen fox, calmly surveying our lounge and it’s
occupants. I whispered to my husband, “Quick get the camera from the unit,” Without disturbing her he was able
to do this and start taking photographs at a rapid pace. I lifted the phone and pressed the button for my daughter’s
number and spoke softly into the receiver.
“ Leanna, you’ll never believe this but we have a wild fox in the
lounge,” She was as amazed as we were. Near by I had some crisps in a bowl and the fox approached as I offered one of
them to her. In the next second she had climbed on to my knee and snatched the crisp from out of my fingers; she did nip them
quite painfully and I prayed she wouldn’t bite me, as I know foxes can be very unpredictable. I gazed into her golden
eyes and she gazed back at me with total trust, her muzzle less than five inches from my face, asking for more crisps.
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I offered another one and told her to take it gently. After three
of four times she got the hang of it and we avoided bitten fingers from then on. When she had her fill she decided to explore
the lounge, jumping on to the chair and looking up underneath the lit standard lamp.
Electricity was obviously unique and a new territory for her. Next
she spotted the television and watched enraptured as the newscaster gave us the events of the day.
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And then as all wild animals do, she decided that she must return
to the fields at the bottom of our garden, to wherever she belonged.
For the next three months she came every evening at the same time
and ate a bowl of dog food. Once she encountered the cats and brought her brush around her in a threatening stance, chattering
in a strange way. She was told in no uncertain terms to “Stop it!” This she did quite sheepishly and ignored the
cats from that day on. John, my husband taught her to play with a ping-pong ball on a string, “You can see this in the
photographs.” And often she would come in if we had company and allow them to feed her.
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The most bizarre experience occurred when two good friends were
over for supper; she strolled into the dinning room and sat very quietly next to the chair, begging for a tit bit, which she
of course got!
It felt as if we had a little family dog in situ, but she wasn’t a dog nor a cat, but a mixture of
the two, very intelligent… very mischievous… very special.
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I framed one of her pictures and put it on the unit in the lounge
for all to see. And then one morning I came into the room and saw her picture face down on the Chinese carpet. My heart sank,
I knew it was a bad omen and a terrible sadness washed over me.
Each second she was with us I knew was special.
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