Fox on the run no more: Pet returns to Clay Township home after brief foray into the wild

CLAY TWP. ‒ After a pet fox named Ghosty ghosted his owners on March 20, more than 500 people shared a social media post about his disappearance.

Lexi Armstrong said she received calls and texts from people as far away as Summit County after a notice about his escape from his home south of New Philadelphia was posted on Facebook. Help from friends and strangers who spotted him during his rumspringa were instrumental in his return 12 days later.

"When he went missing, I was devastated," said Armstrong, 28. "I think he either heard or smelled a female because he has never showed any interest in wanting to be outside. We've tried to take him out with a harness and a leash. He was always too terrified to go outside."

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What's is like having a fox for a pet?

The red fox, legally purchased from an exotic animal breeder, got loose by pushing a fan from the window of the bedroom that serves as his lair and is equipped with a litter box.

"He's like a mixture between a cat and dog with his characteristics," said Armstrong, a dental hygienist. "During the day, he's more like a cat and lounges around. He gets more wild in the evening going into nighttime because he's more nocturnal."

A typical night is spent removing upholstery cushions, batting around throw pillows and flipping the rug.

"He gets the zoomies and runs around," said Armstrong, who shares ownership of Ghosty with her boyfriend Ryan Mizer, an electrician.

Armstrong said Ghosty loves to steal things: wallets, belts, bras, shoes, socks and sometimes snacks from the kitchen such as chips or peanut butter-and-chocolate candy.

Ghosty looks different from most red foxes because his fur is a color variant called fire and ice. It helped his army of citizen spotters distinguish him from his wild counterparts.

He was just 9 weeks old when he came to live with Armstrong and Mizer. He was just a year old at the beginning of April. He was scheduled to be neutered and microchipped before he went missing, but the procedures had to be rescheduled.

"He had a wild birthday," said Armstrong.

How do you track down a missing fox?

While Ghosty was on the loose, acquaintance Logan Willoughby, of Willoughby Dog and Drone Deer Tracking, tried to find the young fox. Another friend said she had seen him stealing carrots ‒ his favorite treat ‒ from her garbage. Someone saw him sunning himself on a pile of logs.

Armstrong and Mizer got a break while en route to a birthday party April 1. Five people called to say they had spotted him in the same location.

The couple went to the place indicated and found him near Oldtown Valley Road south of New Philadelphia.

Armstrong didn't know whether he would want to return to her, given his natural instincts. She didn't know how she would handle the situation if he wouldn't go to her.

"He doesn't like to be picked up. He likes playing tag and hide-and-go-seek with me in the house, and so that poses a problem as to me trying to pick him up."

She didn't have any carrots to lure him. But she did have an apple fritter purchased earlier in the week from Rod's Donut Shop of Uhrichsville.

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She deployed the fritter and called, "Here Ghosty."

"He came right up to me and started eating the apple fritter," Armstrong said. "We scooped him up with a fishing net.

"He was happy to see me. He was bouncing around, rolling in the leaves, playing like he's been out there his whole life."

Found two miles from home, Ghosty had survived his solo outing without losing any weight.

"They eat dead things," Armstrong said. "They eat bugs. They eat a little bit of everything in the wild."

Ghosty is back home

He's back on his home diet: puppy food, meat, fruit and vegetables. He's scheduled to visit the veterinarian May 8, after which he will be neutered. The fan is his window is protected by chicken wire.

Although Ghosty is not expected to be roaming the neighborhood again, he may soon have progeny who will.

"Maybe we will see some of his offspring out and around," Armstrong said.

It is legal to own a fox in Ohio, under certain circumstances, according to Jamey Emmert, wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.

Such animals must be acquired through proper channels, as from a legally licensed propagator who has foxes in captivity and is permitted to breed and sell the offspring. The owner must have paperwork to prove the fox was acquired through legal means.

More information about this permit is online at: https://ohiodnr.gov/buy-and-apply/special-use-permits/wildlife-specialty-permits/noncommercial-wild-animal-propagation

Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.

On Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Pet returned home with help from area-wide fox hunt volunteers