A family in Alsager, England recently looked out their window to see a creature that left them very perplexed. They thought it might be a dog at first, then they thought it was a fox. However, the animal looked far too dark to be a fox.

They also quickly noticed that the creature was clearly not afraid of humans, as he stayed in their yard all day.

The family decided to post an image of the animal to social media in the hopes that someone would be able to identify what it was. Animal rescuer Amanda Lovett, a former employee of the RSPCA, saw the post and decided to step in and help.

She immediately knew that the creature was indeed a fox.

“I managed to safely catch the fox with a grasper and put him in a cat box before taking him to Stapeley Grange [Wildlife Center], who kindly stayed open later so he could be admitted,” Amanda said. “He was very quiet and seemed tame.”

Specifically, the creature was a silver fox. Amanda brought him to Stapeley Grange Wildlife Center, where he was named Shadow.

“He was checked over by our team of vets and was found to be in good health, just a little overweight,” said Lee Stewart, director of the facility.

“He is eating fine and seems to be doing well,” Lee continued. “He is the first silver fox we have ever had here at Stapeley Grange, in nearly 25 years we have been open. He is an impressive-looking animal and it has been interesting to us all to have such a rare admission.”

The RSPCA is trying to figure out how the fox ended up in the family’s yard, and they released the following statement:

“We always advise anyone thinking of getting a pet to fully research the animal’s specific needs before making a decision. Exotic pets can live a long time, grow to a large size and need to be taken an exotics vet if they become ill, which can be expensive. Foxes are wild animals with very specific needs no different to foxes living in the wild and they require specialist care. Even the most experienced fox experts have had difficulty keeping adult foxes successfully. Therefore, we never advise or condone keeping foxes as pets.”