Foxes showing up all over Saugus

SAUGUS-Just as residents are getting used to dealing with coyotes, they now must get used to seeing foxes in their midst.K-9 Officer Harold Young said he’s been getting nearly as many calls regarding foxes as he has about coyotes and he blames development for all of it.”They’ve got nowhere to go,” he said. “What’s funny is the foxes are adapting to the humans but the humans aren’t adapting to the foxes.”Foxes are generally medium sized, sharp featured, bushy tailed members of the Canidae family, which also includes wolves, jackals and domestic dogs. They don’t, however, generally travel in packs.Young said fox sightings have come in from Fairmount, Winter and Dudley streets.One woman, he said, called to report an entire family of foxes living near her home.”She wanted to know if there was anything I could do about it,” Young said. “I told her not really.”Young said unless the animal is showing signs of sickness, if it looks off or is acting strangely there is really nothing he can do. But, he added, there is not a lot for homeowners to be concerned about either.”They’re looking for food,” he said. “They’ll stick their nose right into the snow looking for food.”Young said they will also snatch up pets, so homeowners need to keep an eye on small dogs and cats.Young said another woman near Clinton and Hurd avenues reported her cat has been missing for several days. He shook his head and said he didn’t believe it would be coming home.”Foxes will take a cat if they can get one, especially with snow on the ground and their food source is scarce,” he said.Young said residents’ best bet is to ignore the foxes while giving them a wide berth, keep a close eye on their pets and don’t try and touch or feed the critters.”If you feed them, they will become dependent on you and they won’t be able to take care of themselves,” he said.