Baby raccoons in need of a good home off to a sanctuary

A Mississauga couple that found themselves the unlikely caregivers to five baby raccoons say the critters have found a safe home at an Ontario sanctuary, after CBC Toronto aired a story on the animals.

"They follow us around like little pets and they're playful and they play with each other. They follow us around like little pets and they're playful and they play with each," said Jennifer Clarke, who has been taking care of the baby raccoons with her partner, Ken Syrowy, since Sunday. 

Clarke said the baby raccoons will be transported to Procyon Wildlife in Beeton, Ont. 

"I'm glad they're going to lead a happy, normal life … and hopefully we have visitation rights," she said. 

Clarke and Syrowy were out for a walk Sunday afternoon when, near the end of the street, they noticed a man and his dog stopped at a pile of boards and construction materials. 

"The dog was barking, so we just wanted to come and see what the commotion was," Clarke told CBC Toronto.

Peering up at them from the cracks were three of the baby wild animals. Their mother, the man told them, hadn't been seen in three days.

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Syrowy got to work and pulled the babies out from under the boards. He checked inside for the mother, fearing he might find her carcass amid the pile. But she wasn't there.

Hoping to find them a sanctuary, the pair brought the raccoons home and starting making calls.

The Toronto Humane Society offered to take the babies, but warned they would be euthanized. 

"We just thought that wasn't an option," Clarke said. "They're a wild animal, I understand that, but they're babies and they don't have their mother so we've just been kind of taking care of them."

The pair also say they called the Toronto Wildlife Centre, which also couldn't help them. CBC Toronto reached out to the agency, whose voicemail says it does not respond to calls for baby raccoons due to the large number of calls it receives. 

Since the CBC Toronto story about the raccoons aired Monday night, Clarke said she has been overwhelmed with calls and emails from viewers and readers who wanted to help find a home for the raccoons. 

For the past couple of days, the couple has been babysitting the raccoons in their kitchen. 

And with the help of baby formula, which they're enjoying more than fruit,  they've managed to bring them back to health.

"They're a lot more active, more energy. They do sleep in the daytime though," said Syrowy, adding that the critters are up all night, of course. 

"They cuddle together, all five of them," added Clarke.

But the pair knew they couldn't care for the animals forever. 

"We know that once they get bigger, they're curious. They're a menace," said Clarke.

Clarke said they would have had little chance of surviving if released to the wild.

"They're adorable and maybe it was fate that we found them," said Clarke.