Man forms extremely close bond with fox he rescued

By Ottilie Von Henning via SWNS

A man built an incredibly close relationship with a fox he rescued - and now the pair hug and cuddle every day.

Geoff Grewcock, 74, took Sweep in as a cub seven years ago after she was surrendered to the sanctuary in a very ill state.

Geoff believes she was poisoned and he spent the following year nursing her back to health, during which time she imprinted on him.

As a result, Sweep was unable to be returned to the wild and now spends her life with Geoff at the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary.

Geoff, the owner of the sanctuary based in Nuneaton, said: "Sweep is such a lovely, friendly fox.

"Most people can give her a stroke but she is definitely closest with me and insists on us having a hug every day.

"I think it's her way of saying thank you for all the looking after we do for her."

Although she's living well now, when the pair first met Sweep was in rough shape and there was doubt about whether she'd even survive.

Geoff said: "When we first got her, we didn't think there was much hope.

"She was so lethargic and ill that I had to bottle-feed her for months and was up in the night injecting saline into her system.

"Luckily, after medication and some good TLC, she pulled through and here she is seven years later."

James Cook, 30, a wildlife content creator based in London, visited the sanctuary in June and captured Geoff and Sweep's amazing relationship.

James said: "Sweep is just totally in love with Geoff.

"The pair were hugging for about 10 minutes when I was there.

"It was so sweet to see a fox so up close, and so rare considering they're not meant to be pets."