Of Dogs and Possums: Part 2

(Photos by SCB)

The Pokey Possum

After my old dog, Trevor, had his unfortunate encounter with a possum, I was leery of them for a long time, and tried to ensure that none of my other animals would ever encounter one.  Unfortunately, one winter day Prince decided otherwise.

A rather large possum  (pictured above) had, for some unfathomable reason, decided to make its new home near the side of our shed.  Whether it was broad daylight or night time, it refused to budge, and no amount of yelling, stomping our feet or throwing objects around could convince it to change its mind.  Then came the morning when I was desperate to take Prince out and, not willing to have the possum get hurt, I decided to take him out on a regular leash.

It was the most disastrous decision I had ever made with him.

The instant Prince came out into the yard, his head lifted as he sensed the presence of something new.  One second later, he saw the possum and took off toward it.  I braced myself against his pull...and found myself flying through the air after him, unable to even slow the impetus of his rush toward it.

For several terrifying, helpless seconds I flew along behind him, screeching at him ineffectually.  Then I slammed into a tree headfirst, dropping the leash and going down on my knees as Prince hit the fence.

Prince relaxing after possum hunting

I've  heard it said that possums never move quickly, but I found out in that moment this was patently untrue. The possum moved so fast he seemed to disappear into thin air...leaving Prince barking after him in rage and myself on the ground, holding onto my head in agony.

I didn't speak to Prince for the rest of the day.  Later that night, when the possum came back, a friend helped us trap it and move it to another location far away, from whence it would never return.

I have never since then attempted to hold onto Prince when he was going after anything in the backyard.  I figure our backyard visitors will just have to fend for themselves...and they do.  Possums can actually move a lot faster than most people think they can...they just need the right impetus to get going.  And Prince is definitely that impetus.

Of Dogs and Possums: Part 1

Many years ago, I owned a mixed breed German Shepherd/Collie/Labrador named Trevor.  Trevor had a long list of behavioral challenges, but the one that got him into trouble the most frequently was his avid pursuit of wildlife that wandered into our yard.  Trevor knew no fear...until he pushed his prey just a little too far, and it retaliated against him.  One of the unlikely victims in this scenario was a possum.

There have always been a lot of possums in the area in which I live, and the time when I had Trevor was no exception.  I would find possums of all sizes in my yard both in the daytime and the night time.  When I asked a local wildlife official what I should do about them, as my dog seemed far too excited to see them, he said possums never go anywhere in a hurry...and he was right.  The time Trevor caught one was no exception.

Possums look mean...and, when it came to Trevor, I found out they actually are mean.  On this particular evening, I let him outside and he happened to find one near the edge of my yard, under my apple tree.  I think he was under the impression when he attacked it that it would be an easy victim...but he turned out to be tragically wrong.  As soon as he went after it, the possum leaped into the air and grabbed a hold of his muzzle with his teeth.

Thereafter followed a horrifying period of time (which probably lasted seconds, but seemed to last for an hour) wherein Trevor screamed and swung his head back and forth, and the possum held on.  I ran toward them, shouting (thinking maybe if I pulled Trevor away, the possum would let go) and as it caught sight of me, it suddenly did and fell on the ground in a dead faint.

I actually thought Trevor had killed it.  After carefully examining him (there was no blood!) and putting him inside, I returned with a flashlight to check on the possum.  He was still out cold, stretched out on his back in what appeared to be a dead faint.  I was afraid to touch him, but I shouted at him and picked up a broom and gently nudged him with it...to no avail.  Finally, I went back inside, resolving to go out and check on him again in half an hour.

This went on for an hour and a half...until I finally came out and found he had recovered and wandered away while I was inside.  Thankfully, he didn't leave any blood behind, either...yet he left me with a healthy respect for possums and a resolve never to let my dogs anywhere near them again.

As the years went on, many of my dogs would see possums and bark at them hysterically, but the possums never reacted.  They would simply stare at the dogs insolently, turn their backs or slowly plod away.  I believed what the wildlife official had told me...that there was no hurrying a possum...until Prince proved him wrong.

YouTube video of PrinceBlackstar!!