Flashbacks:
The RNGC Caddyshackpocalypse
Bollards!
Instead, meet "Swiper." His crime? Being a fox. In costume. In a fake downtown, where he could jeopardize Unos-loving flash mobs.
Animal Control Officers charged a 20-year-old Herndon-area woman with Unlawful Possession of Wildlife after she was seen walking a fox wearing a skeleton costume at Reston Town Center around 10:30 a.m. on Halloween.Now that this scourge of flash mobs and fake downtowns has been brought to justice, there clearly will be no crime again anywhere forever, the end.
Officers charged Alayna Sitterson of 23096 Fontwell Square after it was determined she did not have the proper permits issued by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The Silver Cross Fox, named “Swiper,” is seven months old and according to the owner, is neutered, litter-box trained and vaccinated for rabies.
Swiper was seized by officers and will be held at the Animal Shelter until it is determined whether or not DGIF will issue the required special permit.
What is going to happen to the poor fox? :(
ReplyDeleteOf even more interest, where he hell do you get a skeleton costume for a fox?
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to rescuing a dog or cat?
ReplyDeleteI weep to have missed this.
ReplyDeleteFairfax County Police and Animal Control are absolute idiots! My daughter, Alayna, followed Virginia law 100% and is stuck dealing with morons (like Officer Shamblin 703-478-0904 - Fairfax County Police) who "do first and question later" and really don't understand the laws they are supposed to be enforcing. She is beside herself with grief since the unlawful removal (see penal code 4VAC15-30 sections 20 - 50) of her pet fox yesterday.
ReplyDeleteThe skeleton costume belonged to the owner's former pet, a dog that had passed away. This entire thing is totally messed up. The pet is a sweet animal with a loving owner. It is neutered and has had all its shots and is under the care of a well known vet; Now both the pet and the owner are traumatized -- all unlawfully because of ignorance of the Animal Control and Fairfax County police. Don't these people have better things to do with their time?? Really? Did the Fear Mongers from the Rally in DC find their way out to Fairfax County?
ReplyDeleteThis young women is so wrong to own a wild creature, cut off his business and force him to live in captivity! It's wrong, wrong, wrong! Geez! Pet fox?!! Pet fox? THERE'S NO SUCH THING!! There are only wild foxes that morons try to turn into pets and putting him a costume! I'm sure this young women thinks she loves him, but honestly, this is the height of selfishness and ignorance. I've seen her parading him around Reston Town Center many times and it's awful, not the action of someone who loves a pet, but rather the action of someone who is craving the attention that the poor creature draws to her. If she truly "loved" him she'd turn him over to a wildlife rehabilitation group and let him live his life out in something resembling a natural habitat, then she can go to the shelter and get a real puppy that needs to be rescued.
ReplyDeleteLooks like somebody swiped Swiper.
ReplyDeleteWow, yes this seems wrong on every level, I don't think it's cool to own a fox, and it's way not cool to cut of his junk, and seriously not cool to make him wear a costume. Damn, he probably dying of shame.
ReplyDeletePoor thing- how in the world did he end up on the end of a leash?
ReplyDeleteEveryone is entitled to an opinion. Fact of the matter here is the owner did not break any laws. She has raised the fox since it was a baby and the animal is very attached to her, as she is to her pet.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, there are pet foxes. Doesn't sound like you have done your research.
Awwww Maaaaaan!
ReplyDeleteOnly in Reston do we have people that own foxes as housepets and then have parents that claim said pet is TRAUMATIZED when they're removed due to not having the proper papers.
ReplyDeleteI sincerely hope they sue for emotional damages so they can be laughed at some more.
It was her choice of venue to do the fox trot that clearly was the problem. Instead of Reston Town Center, she should have been walking Swiper on Fox Mill Road, Foxclove Road, Foxcroft Way, or Foxfire Court.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone alerted Fox 5 News?
Update: Alayna's on her way to pick Swiper up from Fairfax Animal Control right now! Thank you ABC News and Washington Post for your help in righting a wrong. As to above post (lady saying Alayna is attention-starved), lots of people do a lot of things for attention. Thanks to the first amendment to our country's Constitution, as long as her attention-seeking antics are not hurting other people and are within the confines of the law, she has every right to seek attention parading around the pet she loves. If you are the person who called the police on Alayna yesterday, you should remember, "Judge not. Lest ye be judged." It's a good one to know.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's a big deal she decided to have Swiper as a pet. She seemed to really love him and he seemed to respond decently. I think it's pretty irresponsible to walk him in Reston Town Center on the weekends where there are tons of kids and dogs and people. She was setting herself up.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the pet fox...but don't be irresponsible about where you take it.
I think it was bound to happen at some point.
I think her website is mypetfox.com or something like that.
Actually they live in Herndon.
ReplyDeleteYes, somebody should call Fox 5 News, because this is truly the type of news-worthy journalism that they would be looking for!
ReplyDeleteFrom that look on Swiper's face in the photo, he seems to be thinking, "Is this what they mean by the "bar" scene in Reston Town Center?
ReplyDeleteIf they live in Herndon, is he an undocumented alien from Mexico? Maybe Vicente Fox?
ReplyDeleteI think it is a big deal that she has chosen to own a wild animal. There are hundreds of shelter animals that she could have given a good home to, instead she chose to force a wild animal to live in a completely unnatural way. I'm sure she loves him and that he's well cared for but this is sad.
ReplyDeleteHow ridiculous. Definitely an attention-seeker who needs to find something better to do with her life.
ReplyDeletePlease bring Swiper back to RTC. Sans costume! But leave your momma at home, Alayna.
ReplyDeleteUm, lol. The fox was returned. It's a pet.
ReplyDeleteDo your research, Reston. js.
The ppl at FFXU are glad the fox is home w/ his moms
ReplyDeleteOnly in Reston do we have people who freak out about a pet owner who loves their pet and a pet who loves its owner.
ReplyDelete...oh and attention seeking? People dress their pets in costumes all the time--but no one freaks out about that.
PS--owner doesn't live in Herndon either. No one seems to get facts straight ....
ReplyDeleteReston Patch has all the details of the reunion.
ReplyDeleteYou are all missing the point- just because you can purchase an animal and "tame" it doesn't make it a pet. This is a pathetic life for a fox-- neutered and wearing a costume? He "loves" her? He a fox, he'd probably "love" to have a mate and some kits, (baby foxes), and be living in the wild. It's selfish, and self absorbed and really immature.
ReplyDeleteI would sue FCPD for fucking this up big time. They care more about a stupid fox than about crime. Well, this is what you get from Democrats without brains.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... "sue" and the F-Bomb in the same post? Must be a republican.
ReplyDeleteOnly in Reston would we having extreme debates about costume-wearing foxes.
ReplyDeleteHey, remember that guy with the remote-controlled-car-riding-parrot at Town Center? Yeah, that was awesome.
@Anon 7:47pm, I thought that guy was gone forever but found out him and his buddy have just switched to the Plaza America Starbucks, I felt like I had spotted Elvis....
ReplyDeleteYeah--that dude was creepy, you have to worry about a guy that has so many kid attracting toys.
ReplyDeleteWas the fox snatched from the wild and forced to live in captivity? If so, then yeah, shame on her.
ReplyDeleteBut it sounds to me like it was bought from a breeder, born in a domesticated situation and raised as a pet. If that's the case, I can't help but wonder what exactly the difference is between it and a dog. Would one of you people who are whining about "wild animals" care to explain? What exactly is the intrinsic difference that makes keeping domesticated dogs ok but keeping domesticated foxes wrong? If a domesticated situation is all that this animal has ever known, what makes you assume that it would be any happier scampering off into the woods than a dog would be?
If the fox is well cared-for and happy, I don't see what the problem is.
Anon: Nov. 3, 2010 3:00.
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge difference. Dogs were domesticated over 1000's of years. A process that most likely started naturally with early wild canines hanging around man to grab scraps of food. Man encouraged it because it helped to keep predators at bay. The canines that were least afraid naturally self selected, puppies that were more aggressive or "wild" were killed. Over time you end up with a domesticate dog--but it's over a long, long time. Hugely different from someone who grabs a pair of wild foxes and begins breeding. A few generations of canned food do not domesticate an animal, it just makes them unfit for life in the wild. During this breeders attempt to create a "domesticated pet" what do you suppose happened to the baby foxes that were born that were less tame-able? This girls own website talks about how the breeder selected foxes that demonstrated the right characteristics and breed--what do you think happened to the ones that didn't have the "right" characteristics?
I'm sorry--it's unnecessary and it's wrong. Just because someone thinks it would be cool. There are so many options this person could have taken, this is just wrong.