Remembering Foxy: Arroyo Grande City Council discusses what’s next after death of popular fox

For Arroyo Grande resident Shelly Cochran, Foxy was a frequent visitor she’d be on the lookout for in her backyard.

“It ran around the yard, it went into my office and looked around. We didn’t try to touch it or feed it or anything, but it didn’t really appear to be afraid of us,” she explained.

It’s still unclear how the orphaned fox came to the Village, but it quickly made a connection with everyone and everything in its path.

“We just grew to love it, it was very sweet. It would sit on top of [our] fence sometimes and look down [at us]. It wasn’t hassling anybody,” Cochran said.

It’s possible however, the fox’s friendly nature may have been its downfall. Earlier this month, Foxy was reported to the USDA for allegedly eating a resident’s chickens.

Since the fox had not imprinted on its fox family, it was not possible for the animal to be relocated and ultimately it was killed.

“It imprinted on a human and dog family and so that can’t be reversed. Habituation can be reversed but imprinting can’t, so relocation for this animal – even if it was legal – would not have been suitable,” explained wildlife rescuer Rebecca Dmytryk.

After outcries on a Facebook page made in the fox’s memory, Arroyo Grande’s City Council added it to their agenda Tuesday night.

The city now plans on creating public workshops and adding more resources on their website for people to reference in case they encounter wild animals like this again.

For Shelly Cochran, she’d like to see signs made reminding people not to feed wild animals as well as possibly a plaque at the park commemorating her furry friend.

“It’s just that this little fox touched a different nerve in people. It was so incredibly friendly, not afraid.. it was different,” she said.

There’s currently a GoFundme page set up to start raising money for those signs.

A vigil will be held for the fox on December 11th..