Fox sightings in the city have become much more common since the start of the pandemic. But there hasn't been an entire brood that's caught the city's imagination like this since a mother and her four kits took refuge under The Beaches boardwalk last spring. 

It was two weeks ago now when paramedics Jason Tremblay and Katelyn Darlington made the surprising discovery in the backyard of their Etobicoke home. 

A red fox father, a black fox mother and their seven brand new pups had moved in. Tremblay told blogTO it looked like the family was relocating from another site. 

Tremblay says one day they noticed the mother carrying the pups into their backyard and under their shed.

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The couple immediately contacted Toronto Wildlife Centre and 311 to see if there was anything they should do about the new tenants. 

"They said if they're not problematic, just to let them continue doing what they're doing and so they've just been hanging out," Tremblay says. 

So the family's been living under their shed ever since.

The foxes hunt every day, bringing back plenty of birds, squirrels and rats, and don't cause much trounble other than barking in the mornings.

Tremblay says the kits were still nursing when they moved in, and that they've now just about doubled in size and have started eating meat. 

Tremblay and Darlington have embraced the furry family. 

With woodwork his longtime side hustle, Tremblay has even made a sign to welcome the mom and dad foxes, who they've nicknamed "Jim and Sia and the babies." 

For the most part, they make sure to stay out of their way and only give them water. 

"I just go about my day. If they're there and I walk out, they'll just scatter back under the shed," Tremblay says. "They're cautious but they run around and play a couple of times a day. It's pretty cool."

After having a few neighbourhood kids over to watch the foxes from a distance in the backyard and plenty of inquiries on his social media, Tremblay started a live stream of the playful pups so that anyone can tune in to see them in action. 

Though there's no predicting when they'll pop their adorable heads out.