Police in Dallas, Oregon, say they're seeing a spate of baby animals in need of rescue.

And in a public relations coup, the Dallas Police Department caught two such occasions on tape. Lt. Jerry Mott posted a video to the department's Facebook page Friday afternoon.

Both of the encounters have happy endings. Officer Aaron Mollahan is shown lifting a fawn over a fence trapping it away from its mother, while Mott is shown freeing a raccoon kit from a loose fence picket.

In both cases, the department said, the animals were seen back in their mothers' care.

The department notes that wild animals generally shouldn't be handled, both because of the danger to humans and because animals might not accept their offspring back if they've been handled by humans.

-- Elliot Njus

enjus@oregonian.com

503-294-5034

@enjus