There used to be a time when we didn't even know for sure what a possum looked like, never having seen one up close. Then Tank showed up at our house, and we got online and learned what he was. When it was clear I wasn't going to be talked into letting him go, the National Opossum Society provided us with in-depth information and we plunged in. In all, three special possums have come to live with us. Others have only passed through. It turns out they are individuals, with different personalities. Most prefer to be left alone...but occasionally, a rare one comes along that agrees to share space with you, and that's a profoundly life-changing experience.

TANK......................................................

Tank came to us as a baby, having received a head injury when he was  knocked into a tank of water where he almost drowned. We were advised to let him go, that keeping a possum in captivity is daunting—potentially very expensive, since it's hard to keep them healthy and there would probably be a lot of vet bills. And it turned out to be as demanding and expensive as they said it would be.

MATILDA.............................................

Matilda was rescued as a baby but injured her tail in captivity. During the time it took her to heal, she became too socialized to be able to protect herself in the wild. She loved people. So she came to live with me.  She was the sweetest thing in the world, always completely still whenever she was in anything resembling a pouch, always friendly and trusting, and she never ever even considered biting anybody.

LIZBIT...................................................

Elizabeth was an adult possum with an attitude. She was fat and lazy, and a biter. She made it clear that she was only interested in the room and board, not a relationship. I wondered for awhile what I'd done, agreeing to take her, but we gradually developed an understanding. As long as she was handled only according to her rules and otherwise allowed to be a diva, she was content. We called her Lizbit. 

We were afraid of him at first, and kept him outside in a cage.

He had his own bed...

...asleep in his food bowl...

sleeping with his belly exposed—proof that Tank was one contented possum...

...but this was Tank's favorite place.

The original book cover of the children's book I wrote and illustrated about Tank.

Matilda claimed a spot behind the cushion on the couch...we always had to look before we sat, to make sure we didn't squish her.

Tank was a notorious toe-nibbler and the other animals to get up and move out of the way when he came by, but nobody worried much about Matilda.

Lizbit was always food-motivated.

Tank and Matilda were never this naughty. I gave her a nice pillow and she just burrowed inside it.

VISITORS............................................

This scroungy row had a good time climbing around in the kitchen. They stayed for awhile, and when they got big enough, they all went on to live out their lives in the wild.

One of several babies I was asked to relocate from a business by a busy street. We called him Freddie, but he made it clear he wasn't staying. Here's his parting comment.

Sally Ann and Annabelle...released into the woods the same time as Freddie.

Penelope was running right toward my car and I stopped to keep from running over her. She waited for me to pick her up and take her home. She was just two ounces. She always remained fearful, and I let her go when she gained a couple pounds.

.............................................................................................POSSUM ART.............................................................................................

Bruiser

I never guessed this was going to be such a popular card when I had the Possum Store.

Unfortunately, possums in captivity only live about three years. In the wild, they last less than that before succumbing to traffic and predators. So I sold a lot of sympathy cards.

Joey

I built this ad for NOS (but I didn't draw the possum), and it seems appropriate to put it here.

AJ the movie star, before he was famous as the possum in the movie Witless Protection.

Inspired by a photograph of AJ

I suppose somebody will tell me it's asking for trouble to just put my art here where any ol' body could steal it—some of the originals have been sold, but I still retain the copyright and plan to use some of them in another book I'm writing—but in my experience people who love possums are the best people in the world, so I trust you.