Florida Keys fox sanctuary provides animal-assisted therapy for children

WPLG Local 10’s Animal Advocate segment, reported by Jacey Birch, introduced South Florida viewers to Pawsitive Beginnings and the way our rescued foxes take part in animal-assisted therapy. The piece showed how time spent in a calm, supervised setting with the foxes can help children — including young people connected to a local children’s shelter — feel safe, build trust, and begin to work through difficult experiences.

Our foxes are sanctuary animals, not performers or pets, and their wellbeing always comes first. The healing work is built around quiet presence, observation, and gentle connection rather than handling or pressure, so that both the animals and the people they meet stay comfortable. For many participants, simply sharing space with an animal that has also known hardship can make hard feelings easier to face.

Most of the foxes here arrived from the fur trade or captive breeding and carry their own histories of stress and recovery. That shared experience of healing is part of what makes these visits meaningful, and we are thankful to Local 10 for helping more families learn that this kind of support exists.