LINKED: Stittsville resident helps taxi a sick beaver

THE BEAVER: Safely arrived at Aspen Valley Sanctuary and is getting help. #CastorChauffeur on @cbcallinaday now! pic.twitter.com/BuuWfl74uD

— Area Resident (@DougHempstead) December 9, 2015

Several media outlets have stories today about Stittsville resident Mary Herbert, and how she volunteered to chauffer a sick beaver 400km from the Rideau Valley Wildlife Centre to a rehabilitation clinic in Rosseau, Ontario.

CBC reports:

The beaver, whose plight caught the attention of many Canadians on social media, was found dehydrated, underweight and lethargic in an Ottawa-area backyard. Late Tuesday afternoon, the Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary tweeted an urgent plea for a driver to pick up the 11-kilogram beaver and take it to the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, which is better equipped to treat the animal. It took only 30 minutes for Mary Herbert — a self-confessed “beaver fan” — to respond to the request.

“Where I live we have beaver ponds close by. It’s just nice when I’m out walking with my dog seeing the beavers,” said Herbert. “When an animal needed aid I figured I could step up to the plate and do it.”

So on Wednesday morning, Herbert and the beaver — safely lodged in a cat carrier — hit the road and began the roughly four-hour journey. Not only did she have to keep one eye on the animal, she was also asked by the animal experts to keep the radio off so the beaver could ride in silence.

The Ottawa Sun reports:

Mary Herbert, a family woman from Stittsville, made headlines Tuesday after she agreed to a very unusual request — to drive an ill beaver to a doctor’s appointment in the Muskokas. On Wednesday morning, Herbert delivered on her promise and picked up her new furry friend at the Rideau Valley Wildlife Centre, ready for the 400 km adventure to the Aspen Valley Wildlife Centre.

“I love animals and I love nature,” said Herbert. “I have a cottage up that way so I thought, why not.”
…
Word of the sick beaver’s need for a ride north broke Tuesday when the centre posted a call out for help on its facebook and twitter pages. Kristy Bailey, a worker at the centre, said the beaver was in rough shape when he came into their care last Friday. He was skinnier and smaller than he should be and handlers could feel his spine. He wasn’t eating and was sluggish and not afraid of humans. But the Rideau Valley Wildlife Centre has been unable to determine exactly what’s wrong with the beaver, so they’re getting some help from Aspen Valley Wildlife Centre in Rosseau, Ont.