Fox Raised By Humans Thinks He's A Dog

A woman in England has a fox that thinks he’s a dog. His name is Todd. You might be wondering if I’ve finally lost my hold on reality and am just recounting the plot of The Fox and the Hound (aka, the saddest Disney movie; Seriously, this scene KILLS ME), but it’s true: Emma D'Sylva, a 25 year old animal lover from Stanfield, UK, is the proud owner of a tame, 11-month-old fox. D’Sylva took on Todd at the age of 4 months, when his previous owners could no longer take care of him. As she describes to The Daily Mail, the young fox was a lot to handle at first but eventually came around:

He was a bit crazy when he first came to me last year but now he has a really strong bond with me and he will walk on a lead. He is very playful with me. He will run up to me wagging his tail when I go to feed him and he will roll over to have his belly tickled.

Todd hangs out a lot with D’Sylva’s two Labrador Retrievers, and has picked up some canine behaviors, including playing with toys, tail wagging, walking on a leash, and letting others pet him.

I know that for many of us, the idea of keeping a wild animal as a domestic pet is a bit squicky, but in this case, there’s no chance that Todd could be released into the wild: He was bred in captivity and has never been on his own, so the best place for him is with someone who knows how to take care of him. D’Sylva has a lot of experience with animals—she owns 40 pets of different varieties, whom she takes to visit schools and nursing homes in order to let children and the elderly learn about and interact with animals. Todd recently made his first trip to a school, where, says D’Sylva “the children really enjoyed stroking him while he was in my arms.”

Here’s hoping that D’Sylva and Todd continue to have a beautiful relationship, though if they ever reenact this part of The Fox and the Hound, I will straight up bawl my eyes out:

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Image: Getty Images; Giphy