Tippy is a pearl fox (red fox by species, with a solid grey coat) who was sold at a game farm auction as a cub. A woman bought her with the best of intentions as a pet for her young son to play with. About three weeks later, her son was playing with Tippy, roughly. Although she was somewhat domesticated, having been raised in captivity, she was still a wild animal, and quite naturally bit him. It wasn't hard enough to break the skin, but it was hard enough to upset the kid. He sat on her to keep her quiet, and that's how his mother found them. Tippy wasn't breathing very well or moving much.
The problems here are evident. Where a puppy or kitten might have been more tolerant of a child's rough play, a fox is not used to it. And once the fox has been injured, what to do? Many, maybe most, veterinarians are not licensed to treat wild animals and lack the experience to do so.
Fortunately, the mother was familiar with the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic in St. Paul, Minnesota, which does have experience and a license to treat wild animals. The WRC gave her a stern lecture on keeping foxes as pets, and took Tippy in to be sent to the fox rehabilitator they work with. The woman signed on as a volunteer at the WRC, and I met her there nearly a year later when I signed on. My first visit to the rehabilitator was when this woman and I went out together to visit Tippy.
Tippy is a resident fox now. She is put in with or near other foxes, to make them feel more comfortable. She is in excellent health and although she is too tame to be released to the wild, she still retains many of the instincts of a wild fox. She also serves as a stellar example of why foxes do not make good pets.