George Washington himself was an avid fox hunter and even bred his own fox hounds. Today, Washington, the father of our country, is also known as the father of the American foxhound.
Washington was sparse in details when recording his many diary entries documenting fox hunting, usually naming who joined him for the hunt, how long the hunt lasted, whether it was successful and sometimes, where his dogs eventually caught the fox (often cornered in a tree). He didn’t seem to show any reverence for the fox itself.
He might have acknowledged that some of the foxes were smart enough to escape, but he reserved his respect for the foxhounds, said Bruce Ragsdale, who has written extensively about Washington.
“It almost always ends the same way,” Ragsdale said, “which is not good for the fox.”
When the wilderness wanders in
In most cases, wildlife is welcome at the Capitol, said Leonard, whose office fielded early calls about the fox. It’s a sanctuary for bird watchers and a home to raccoons. It’s frequently visited by a snowy owl, and occasionally, someone will spot a deer, or more rarely, a coyote. Leonard’s office even helped build a ramp for ducklings struggling to leave the water of the Capitol Reflecting Pool.
Fox sightings have been rare at the Capitol, but they are not unheard-of. There was a round of fox sightings in 2014, including a fox that ate a squirrel on the Capitol lawn in front of tourists. And a fox took refuge on the White House grounds during the Obama administration.
As much as Leonard supports coexisting peacefully with Capitol wildlife, sometimes, she said, the best home for them requires a little distance from the “wild hallways of Capitol Hill.”