NEWARK, Ohio — Walking Wild Rescue founder and CEO Molly Schulz introduced Spectrum News to her inspiration, Fiddle, a captive fox who she and her husband David rescued at four-weeks-old.
“The idea that animals like him are living in four to five feet of wire, being abused and mistreated, just to be killed, was something that my husband and I just couldn’t swallow. And so we decided to completely change our lives around and devote it to saving lives,” said Schulz.
The two joined dozens of volunteers and sprung into action, raising more than $120,000 to build a new facility on their own property in Newark.
The state-of-the-art facility will be the largest for captive-bred foxes in the U.S., enabling them to house 65 foxes and 20 wolf dogs in a climate-controlled indoor space as well as outdoor fenced areas for the animals to roam.
“So we own about 20 acres, and we’re turning about four of those acres into this state-of-the-art, life-saving facility that we have just broken ground on. And this facility is so much more than just a bunch of wood and metal. It’s really here to save lives. It will have on-site vet clinics that are specially designed for the needs of these animals. It will have food prep, it will have a place for the community to come and experience these guys,” said Schulz.
While Schulz admits both foxes and wolf dogs can be a handful at times and don’t make for the greatest domesticated pets, she and her husband wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s one thing to hear a fox or see a picture, It’s another thing to be able to go in and have an interaction with one of the foxes we’ve been able to rescue from the fur trade and just see how sweet and amazing they are. And we really want people to learn to love and respect these animals to see them for the beautiful animals they are,” said Schulz.
Schulz said the entire project is expected to be complete by the end of the year. They’re hoping to take in more foxes and wolf dogs in the coming months. For more information on Walking Wild Rescue or to donate to the project, click here.
