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.
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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.
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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.
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.............................................................................................POSSUM ART.............................................................................................
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. |