Neighbors unite to free red fox from pipe stuck around its neck — so he may run to his grateful kids

A sweet story of a neighborhood coming together to help a fox in trouble touched the hearts of many. The story was shared on Reddit and was also covered on RADIO IQ. The channel shared how one day in May, people in Albemarle County, Virginia, started seeing a red fox flitting around with a big plastic stuck around its neck, possibly a collar or a broken flower pot. 

Then the Wildlife Center of Virginia began receiving frantic calls, “Hello, thank you for calling the Wildlife Center of Virginia. This is Sarah. How can I help you?" Sarah Driscoll at the center, gauging the pulse of the calls, knew it was time to take instant action. Everyone also assumed that the red fox was a mother as it was often seen with a baby fox. The initial call was made by a woman named Donna, who had spotted the fox and left a voicemail at the center, concerning the authorities. A local mom, Haley Taylor, also stepped up along with her two children, 7-year-old Brooks and 5-year-old Elise. They wanted to offer their help, so Taylor messaged her neighbors as an attempt to spread awareness and quickly catch the fox. After sharing the news with her neighbors, one shared, "The fox that you saw, with the collar, has been sleeping on my porch the past few nights."

Everyone tried their best to lure in the fox with animal food and pepperoni, but foxes are extremely tough to catch. One neighbor offered her warm words and water when she finally saw the fox. She shared with RADIO IQ, "I said, ‘Are you okay little fox?’" The woman also asked for advice and was informed to trap the fox. While she was successful in this, the red fox that got trapped was not the one they were looking for, and it instead got into a fight with the owner's cat. "They were fighting. I literally had to break them up with a broom."

Finally, several weeks later, a woman from another community, Debra, was able to catch the real fox and brought it to the wildlife center in Waynesboro. The veterinary team at the center then sedated the animal and was able to identify the mysterious thing stuck around his neck, which turned out to be part of a storm drain. Connor Gillespie, the Wildlife Center’s outreach director, told  WHSV3 about the weeks-long rescue effort and the possibility of how the animal got stuck in the first place, stating, "We believe that it was part of a French drain. The fox probably got curious, stuck his head inside a drain, and then, when he went to pull it out, you know, part of it dislodged and got the part of the neck."

Luckily, the red fox was brought to the center on June 20, 2025, and received much-needed assistance. The staff further reported the condition of the fox, stating that he was moderately dehydrated and thin, but fortunately didn't experience any injuries from the drain pipe stuck around his neck. "When we see an entrapment case like this, we worry about underlying trauma or skin damage that might not be immediately visible," shared Gillespie. 

Another truth came out about the fox's identity when the animal turned out to be a male. Driscoll shared, "He is actually a boy. A lot of times, father foxes will stay and take care of kits as well, so he was just being a really good dad." The animal was successfully released from the center the same day and into his neighborhood.