A non-profit mammal rescue and rehabilitation centre that serves the entire Lower Mainland has been hampered in caring for its animals after its truck crashed on the way to a rescue last week.
The Critter Care Wildlife Society based in Langley cares for orphaned and injured animals until they're ready to be released back into the wild. They take in everything from raccoons and squirrels to bear cubs that need help.
On Aug. 19, one of the centre's staff was driving their covered pickup to get a raccoon that was stuck in a trap. A cat darted out onto the road, and the driver swerved to avoid it but ended up going off the road. The feline and the driver were unharmed, but the truck had to be written off.
"Unfortunately, the damage is more than the insurance is willing to fix," said Dawn Johnston, animal care supervisor.
Johnston says they're really hampered in what they can do without their vehicle. They relied on it to respond to emergencies, rescue and release animals and for daily errands like buying feed.
They're using a rental truck in the meantime, but that comes with restrictions on who can drive it. Johnston says they've had to turn down calls about animals in need of help.
"Without the truck we're very limited to what we can actually do," Johnston said. "We kind of have to rely on people bringing animals to us. That's not always possible if it's an angry raccoon."
The centre has started a GoFundMe page to raise the needed funds for a replacement truck.
Johnston said they set up the page in order to raise money quickly, because release season is approaching fast.
"We're having to keep animals longer than is necessary because we don't have the resources to get them out there," she said.
As of Sunday evening, the centre had raised $3,415 of their $5,000 goal toward replacing their truck.
