The keen eye of a Good Samaritan, along with TLC provided at in south 91原创, have likely saved the lives of three beaver kits.

The siblings, believed to be around two months old, were found covered in motor oil in a ditch on the corner of Dewdney Trunk Road and Turnbridge Avenue in Mission July 17.

鈥淎 gentleman was in the area and heard them whimpering and crying,鈥� said Dawn Johnston, animal care supervisor with Critter Care.

Two of the beavers appear to be recovering well, while a third was taken to a vet on July 25 for further examination.

Johnston said someone had dumped the motor oil in the ditch.

鈥淭hey were swimming around in the oil,鈥� she said.

The beavers groomed the motor oil off their bodies and in the process, ingested it.

When brought into Critter Care, the beavers were skinny and completely covered in oil. They were given Dawn dish soap baths to scrub the oil off their coats.

鈥淲e syringe-fed them for a day to get their weight up, because they were clearly skinny,鈥� Johnston said.

Johnston said this incident was 鈥渟uch a preventable thing.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 needless,鈥� she said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no need to dump oil on the side of the road. We have these (beavers), we don鈥檛 know what else it could be possibly affecting. It鈥檚 in the whole ditch system, so it could be affecting all of the wildlife.鈥�

She said people need to be responsible.

鈥淭ake it to a recycling centre, there鈥檚 lots of ones that can take your oil. You don鈥檛 need to just dump it on the side of the road.鈥�

Johnston is 鈥渞eally confident鈥� two of the beavers will make a full recovery. The third one is struggling. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not sure if he ingested more of the oil or he has more issues going on,鈥� she said.

鈥淥nce we get the vet appointment results back, we鈥檒l get a better idea with him. We鈥檙e hopeful for the third one, as well.鈥�

The beavers will be at Critter Care until next spring, when the plan is to release them into a suitable area.

Critter Care is accepting donations year-round to help with the more than 350 animals staying at the shelter, including fawns, skunks, raccoons, squirrels, and bear cubs, to name a few.

Donate online . The centre is located at 481 216 St. To learn more about how to help, call 604-530-2054.

Donations needed

Critter Care is in dire need of donations.

Critter Care founder and executive director Gail Martin said the society is in a 鈥渕ajor, major building mode鈥� to keep up with the influx of animals brought into the facility. Since January, 1,100 animals have been cared for at the south 91原创 facility.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had to refurbish a lot of our cages, so it is really, really depleting our funds,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淚t has to be done, because we have to keep the animals safe. It鈥檚 just years of wear and tear, and then with all the rain that we鈥檝e had, we鈥檝e just had to tear down and repair.鈥�

Martin estimates that repairs have already cost $150,000.

The Critter Care 鈥� one of its main fundraisers 鈥� is happening Oct. 1 at Campbell Valley Regional Park.

Rat traps taking a toll

For people setting snap-style rat traps, Martin has this advice: don鈥檛 use them.

Animals other than rats are being seriously injured by the traps.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had so many animals (hurt by the traps),鈥� Martin said. 鈥淭hey lose their feet, so you have to end up putting them down. Not just one or two. We鈥檙e getting five or six a week.鈥�

In fact, on July 25, Critter Care reported that it had fielded 10 calls over the previous four days about animals being injured by the traps.

Raccoons, skunks, and squirrels have been injured by the traps, locally, causing irreparable nerve damage to their paws. A skunk had to be euthanized after suffering a dislocated elbow as a result of one of these traps.