The fox’s cries turned into whimpers when it looked up at him, but it couldn’t cower or run, because its black paw was caught in a nasty snare.
Shit.
Fuck.
Fucking poachers. In his forest.
Yev slowed down, surprised when, instead of freezing in hope it might be overlooked, the animal raised its head and barked louder, as if desperate to get his attention. That was… definitely a first.
“It’s okay,” Yev found himself saying as he approached, taking slow steps to ease the animal’s anxiety. He might have been far stronger than the small thing, but he still didn’t want to get bitten. “I’ll open those snares. Just keep still.”
Did the fox nod? Yev wasn’t sure, but it did stop moving.
“It’s gonna hurt, little one,” Yev whispered and kneeled in the snow. He grabbed the rusty metal, expecting teeth sinking into his thick gloves, but the small canine whimpered, ears flat against its head.
When Yev pried the snare open, the fox let out an ungodly screech, but instead of darting off, it stared at Yev before falling over into the snow. So that was that. Yev sighed and stroked the fluffy fur, surprised by how soft and clean it was for a wild animal’s. The paw was twisted in an unnatural direction, showing raw meat and bone, but the fox’s heartbeat was steady. The poor thing must have… fainted.
He stilled, staring at the snare meant for a much larger animal, then at the poor little thing. It took him only half a second to make up his mind.
Goodbye, peaceful evening, hello emergency vet.
But that was okay. People had to eat, he understood that and was no vegetarian either, but leaving traps like this was both lazy and barbaric. The fox’s life came first, but once he was done, he would come back here and track down the bastard who’d left the snares.
***
Karolina let out a strangled sigh, pushing stray hairs away from her face with her forearm. She hadn’t said anything yet, but Yev knew it was coming—the bad news he'd anticipated throughout the drive to Sanok.
The fox had woken in the cage Yev had in his truck for situations like this, and kept crying until Yev relented and spoke to him in a soft voice. The harsh sounds became whines once Yev moved the cage inside the cab, and he’d gotten so used to the little thing hurting his ears throughout the drive that its current silence was weirding him out.
“It’s no use,” Karolina said in the end, petting the shiny fur, and Yev was glad the fox had been anesthetized and couldn’t hear this verdict, even though it wouldn’t have understood human speech.
“You sure? He’s otherwise healthy,” Yev said from the chair farthest from the examination table. The main lamp had been switched off, which left only the bright spotlight bathing the unconscious patient in a white glow.
The young vet tightened her lips. If he hadn’t known she was over thirty, he’d have taken her for a high-schooler, but despite the round, child-like face and big blue eyes, she was one of the most competent vets he’d met in his career. If she said the situation was hopeless, then it surely was.
Still, he couldn’t help but take it personally.
Karolina’s small hand raised and fell with the fox’s side, as if the animal tried to prove that it was still alive and didn’t need to be put down. “The damage is too great. The paw’s practically severed in half, and there really isn’t anything I can do here. Were this a dog, we’d just amputate, but this is a wild animal. It won’t be happy living in a cage, and it won’t survive in its natural environment.”
The lush tail twitched, and Yev rose to his feet just as Karolina took a step back when the little one’s eye opened.
“I could have sworn I’ve given him the right dose,” she mused, but when the fox didn’t try to get up, and lay there, letting out a harsh panting noise, Yev stepped in and placed one hand on the slender neck, and the other—on the animal’s thigh.
“I can hold him, if necessary, but are you sure you want to do this? He seemed friendly. And not like a rabid animal can be. More like… you know, a dog.”
The fox let out a tiny whimper and just as Yev was expecting a bite, it nuzzled his wrist with its cool nose.
Karolina cocked her head. “He is awfully clean for a wild animal. And well-fed for this