Back in February, Mike and I went to the JAB Canid Education and Conservation Center (JABCECC) to meet and learn about foxes. This place was actually very close to the California Wolf Center that Mike and I visited a few years ago. However, much like the wolves, Mike and I didn’t realize how much we didn’t know about foxes until we went to JABCECC. We learned so much and got to spend some good quality time petting and feeding the foxes!

The first babies we met were two New Guinea Singing Dogs – neither Mike nor I had ever met this kind of dog before! We learned that they are actually thought to be the very first primitive dog in existence, dating back almost 10,000 years! This breed was left on their own for many, many years on the island of New Guinea and were discovered and brought off the island in the 1950s. Since then, conservation has been a goal and it’s thought that now there are only 200-300 of these in existence today. We are so glad that we got to meet them! I didn’t get any pictures because I was too busy giving lots of pets to them and just taking them in! They were vocal – we didn’t hear them full on “sing” but they were definitely more vocal than a “regular” dog.

After our warm welcome by the New Guinea Singing Dogs, we went to meet the foxes. We met them one by one and chatted with the founders, Amy and Dave Bassett. They were absolutely delightful people and spent so much time answering all of our questions and educating us about foxes both in the United States and abroad. We met Maksa first and she was an absolute doll! She is a Russian Domesticated fox and was born in Novosibirsk, Russia. She posed so well for pictures!

Next, we met Mikhail, who is also a Russian Domesticated fox and was also born in Novosibirsk, Russia. He was shy, but a really sweet guy. I also loved his coloring!

We met Viktor next, and he was the sweetest! He was so friendly and we both got to hold him and take pictures with him! He’s also a Russian domesticated and born in Novosibirsk. The last fox we met was Ishka – she was shy so I didn’t get any pictures of her. She was actually a US captive bred fox and was very sweet. Viktor was definitely a ham – he loved the camera and loved getting attention from Mike and I!

Overall, this was such a great trip and Amy and Dave are doing such great work! It always makes my heart happy to see great organizations doing great things for animals.