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Critter Care shares 'rescue' stories

The public is invited to walk to help raise funds for Critter Care Wildlife Society next month.
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Edyta the opossum was found injured in Aldergrove.

The public is invited to walk to help raise funds for Critter Care Wildlife Society next month.

Put on your wildest walking gear and bring your friends, family members and your four-legged companion (on leash) for a nice walk in Campbell Valley Regional Park. Goodies and prizes and fun are promised for all. New this year, participants can choose between two routes, and check out all the treasures for sale, including beautiful handmade jewellery.

Enjoy a light barbecue after the walk and visit guest exhibitors to learn about other local organizations. Meet new friends, connect with old ones, and learn more about wildlife from B.C.

Walk On The Wild Side, Critter Care's fifth annual Walk-A-Thon fundraiser, takes place on Sunday, October 6 at Campbell Valley Regional Park, Langley (South Entrance, off 8th Ave.)

Onsite registration begins at 10:30 a.m. The Long Walk (4k) begins at 11:30 a.m., and the Short Walk (2k) at 11:45 a.m.

Pre-registration deadline is September 21, and is required for the lunch. For online registration go to http://www.crittercarewildlife.org/index.php/component/ckforms/?view=ckforms&id=1 or print and fill out the registration form and send to Cathy (address can be found on the bottom of the registration form). For informationn call Cathy at 604-202-5697 or email: claycath@telus.net, or if you are unable to join the walk, you can make a general donation online at www.canadahelps.org – Critter Care Wildlife Society. You will receive an electronic tax receipt immediately following your payment or donation.

Participants walk, rain or shine, at your own pace, and your canine companion is welcome on leash.

Following are some stories of the rescued wildlife at Critter Care:

Bonnie, the short-tailed weasel from Abbotsford

Bonnie was brought in to Critter Care Wildlife Society on May 29 from Abbotsford.  The finder’s cat brought one of her siblings into their house, and they observed the mother drop this one as she hurriedly tried to move the rest of her babies. They waited a few hours, hoping Mom would come back for her, but when she didn’t they planned to bring both baby weasels in. Unfortunately, the one that was caught by the cat died before they could get to it. At only three weeks old, her eyes were just about to open, and she already had very sharp teeth. She was dehydrated and a little bit lethargic on admission, but after receiving fluids and heat she perked right up. She already loved tearing into little pieces of meat even before her eyes opened, and it wasn’t long before she developed into a tiny, little, lean, mean killing machine. Bonnie was released on July 23.

Sly and Lemonaid, the orphaned raccoons from Maple Ridge

Sly and Lemonaid were brought in three days apart, orphaned siblings from Maple Ridge. The finders had been aware of the family for two months, but on July 13 they realized something was wrong. The babies stayed in their hedge, alternating between sleeping and crying, but Mom had stopped coming around. They were able to lure Sly into a cat kennel with cat food and brought her in. At that time they borrowed a live trap from CCWS, and successfully caught Lemmy on July 16. The brother and sister were reunited, and raised together with other orphaned raccoons to keep them company.

Piper, Tennant and Barrowman, the coyote pups from Cloverdale

It took Critter Care Wildlife Society staff and interns three days to catch all of the six week old orphaned coyote pups found at an abandoned and burned out house in Cloverdale. Just walking around the property covered in garbage, burned wood and debris was a dangerous task, but they were determined and just kept going back until they had them all. A total of five coyote pups were found, but one was extremely sick and died at the vet. One other pup was found that had clearly been killed by humans at the very creepy site. After the horrifying discovery of that unlucky pup, they were relieved that at least the others had been rescued from a similar fate.

Milady, the black-tailed deer from Port Moody

Milady was discovered on the afternoon of May 31 at only one week old. On the advice of CCWS staff, the finder was asked to wait until she was sure Mom was not going to return for her fawn. It’s very important for people to be aware that it is not unusual for fawns to be left lying in the grass by their mothers for up to 12 hours. Unless the fawn is wandering around, crying and obviously in distress, the likelihood is that she is just waiting patiently for Mom to return. After six hours with no sign of a doe, the fawn began to stir, wobbling around crying for her Mother. At this point, it was evident that the fawn had been orphaned, and Critter Care staff and interns went out to pick her up and raise her with the other 10 fawns in care this summer.

Edyta, the opossum from Aldergrove

Edyta was seen staggering across 32nd Avenue in Aldergrove and was picked up a short time later by Critter Care Wildlife Society staff. She had clearly been attacked by an animal, and had puncture wounds on her head, back and belly near her pouch. The wounds on her stomach were so severe she required a trip to the vet for stitches. Edyta was cared for by an intern for three weeks, and at times it was touch and go as they waited to see if the antibiotics and regular wound cleaning would save her before the trauma and infection took over. Luckily, Edyta’s condition improved steadily and at the end of her third week in care she was released.

The White Rock octuplets

On the evening of May 30 one of the interns at Critter Care Wildlife Society was delighted to be given the responsibility of raising three orphaned skunks that had been brought in from White Rock. Funky Monk, Little Riz and Zoli were syringe fed every four hours and introduced to solid food. The next morning, surprise! Three more orphans had been discovered and Buffalo, Boneo and Phoenix were reunited with their siblings. Now the intern had six orphans to syringe feed every four hours, and although she was tired, she loved her baby skunks and was determined to provide them with excellent care. That night, Little Iz was found wandering around the same house in White Rock and was reunited with the family. The next morning, the finders brought in Patti, the eighth and final sibling. A month later, the eight baby skunks had been successfully weaned, taught to dig for bugs and slugs and were ready to be released.