Walking Wild Rescue By Gary Baker, Director of Marketing & Public Relations towards the fur farmer, and ultimately, try to have a good relationship with them so they can rescue animals. Molly hopes to see the fur trade phase out and regulations developed for foxes veterinary care and quality of life.
We are always mindful to provide useful and informative information to our members in this magazine, and also keep an eye out for unique member businesses, nonprofits and hobbies that make for an entertaining and interesting read. That is what this story Gary Baker is about – a unique, non-profit organization ran by Energy Cooperative members, David and Molly Schulz. The Schulz’s live in rural Licking County. They rescue and save foxes and wolf dogs from unfortunate surroundings and give them a safe, healthy home to live for the rest of their lives. Molly was a city girl from a congested area in northwest Columbus. David convinced her to move to 19 acres in Licking County by promising she could have any animal that she wanted. Molly agreed and David and their four-legged babies, including Maugrim their first wolf dog, made the move. Soon after Banjo, a captive bred fox rescued from a Minnesota fox rescue wolf dog sanctuary. Then Fiddle, a four and a half week old fox rescued from a fur farm, joined them. Through Banjo and Fiddle the Schulz’s developed a passion for saving and rescuing foxes and wolf dogs. They now own and operate Walking Wild Fox Rescue and Wolf Dog Sanctuary.
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Since the animals at Walking Wild Fox Rescue and Wolf Dog Sanctuary are non-wild captive bred animals, they can never be released into the true wild. Captive bred animals do not have the instincts they need to survive, so releasing them in the wild is a death sentence. The Schulz’s have discovered that many people mistakenly believe foxes make great house pets. In fact, these extremely energetic animals are nothing like a dog or a cat. Fox are very intelligent and curious animals. This does not make them great family members for most people due to the destruction their natural behavior can cause. This often takes new fox owners by surprise, and they end up not wanting to keep the animal. This is why an organization like Walking Wild Fox Rescue and Wolf Dog Sanctuary is so crucial and important. They provide a safe haven for these animals to be raised and are a resource for fox and wolf dog education in the community and around the world.
In March of 2020, the Schulz’s rescued five foxes from a New York fur farm. Fast forward to today, they have a total of 35 foxes in their care. In the past two and a half months, they have also taken in nine baby foxes or “kits”. The Schulz’s work with fur farmers across the United States to rescue foxes. The fur business in the U.S. is a billion-dollar industry. Fox fur, like bobcat and lynx fur, are popular with clothing designers around the world. David and Molly have no anger MYENERGYCOOP.COM
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