The sad death of a dog fox and a vixen

Just a minor sync note:

I read Time and Mr. Bass (1967) by Eleanor Cameron while I was also reading The Philosopher's Pupil (1983) by Iris Murdoch. These are completely different novels -- a sci-fi yarn for children written by a Canadian living in California, and a psychological novel written by an Irishwoman living in England -- but each features two wild foxes which are always referred to with gendered terms: dog fox for the male and she-fox (Cameron) or vixen (Murdoch) for the female. (Was vixen perhaps considered a slightly improper word for children in the '60s?) In each novel both foxes are eventually killed, causing distress to a character who had thought of them as "my" foxes.

Here's page 32 of Time and Mr. Bass:

"Oh!" said Mr. Bass sadly. "No, Chuck, it's my lovely dog fox, and he's dead. Now, that's a shame. I thought he and I had come to an agreement that he'd let our hens be, but someone's gone and shot him -- Towyn, I expect -- and so I take it he did not let our hens be. . . . Tchk! This is bad -- this is very, very bad."

Later (p. 171) the vixen, too, is killed:

"Poor beast," said Mr. Theo softly, and he knelt and took the slim muzzle in his hand and lifted her head. "Poor beast, she died of the most extreme terror." Gently, he closed her eyes.

Here's p. 534 of The Philosopher's Pupil:

'The foxes -- they are dead. The men came and killed them -- here in the garden -- I showed them where.'

Alex screamed out, her lips wet with a foam of rage -- 'You what, you let them do it? You showed them? You devil -- without telling me -- you let them kill my foxes -- oh I could kill you for this -- how could you do it -- let them kill my foxes -- why didn't you tell me --?'

I've read a lot of books, but only two where this happens -- and I was reading them concurrently, after each had been brought to my attention by the sync fairies. Not the best of omens.