Playing Possum

Dora Mae has a new conquest to put on her trophy shelf.
The last few nights our normal night time activities have been interrupted by an interest in the backyard. I had no idea what the dogs have been barking about but their interest in a certain corner of the yard was obvious. Barking. More barking. And Dora wouldn’t come inside for a treat.
Whatever was in that corner was better than a kitchen treat. I waited them out and eventually Dora came in for the night.
Last night, our routine started the same. Snacktime of a spoonful of plain yogurt and a few kibbles. Then I open the back door for their last potty run before they are put in their crates for the night.
I opened the door and both of the dogs jumped so quickly I was a bit nervous. This time, instead of running to the interesting corner of the backyard, they were on the porch, standing over something that I couldn’t see in the dark. There wasn’t any barking. There wasn’t any snapping. I called the dogs into the house and they came. Once I got them in, I peeked back out to the porch with my hair standing on end. I had no idea what they had cornered and why they had backed down so quickly.
Laying on the patio floor was a dead possum. Or a rat. I wasn’t sure. I was so creeped out.
Calling on the aid of the man of the house, he started to get prepared for the task of ridding the backyard of the body. I sat by the window and watched it. It didn’t seem quite dead. Its eyes kinda blinked a few times or maybe I was imagining things?
It kinda lifted its head and laid it back down. Or maybe I was imagining things?
Finally, the man of the house went out armed with a bucket, a garden hoe and a nervous laugh. He’s not one to face dead animals easily.
He rolled the “dead” animal into the bucket with the hoe very carefully. I remarked that I thought I had seen it move. This added to the nerves. Was this fierce animal going to attack him?
He took it to the driveway with the bucket tipped over on its side.
And I got on the internet, reading all about these animals.
Rarely are they aggressive, they eat bugs, mice, moles (go possum!) and anything else it can find. They are considered sanitation experts in the animal kingdom. They are also considered more intelligent than dogs. (Surely not as brilliant as my Dora Mae!)
And when frightened they “play possum”. Its not something they think about, but when they are stressed or shocked, their body collapses and they appear to be dead. It’s this animal’s defense mechanism. Sadly, many a possum has been killed by folks believing a possum is already dead so they dispose of the body in a plastic bag or by burying it.
Thankfully, our possum was not hurt by dog or man. And hopefully he will stick around to get the moles that still seem to visit our yard.




