Natural History

Posted in Absolute Piffle, wildlife | Tagged opossum | 13 Comments

13 Responses

1. on November 15, 2009 at 4:41 pm Rinalia

   Certainly polite of the dogs to bring the ‘possum back outside, although I’m not certain why they didn’t lock the dogs up while trying to move the animal outside. All worked out in the end, yes? :)

   The one time Mina met an opossum was at 3 am in the morning up in Washington. I had let her out to go potty (she was having some bathroom “issues”) when she saw what appeared to be a stuffed animal THAT MOVED. This was highly appealing and she lifted up in the air like a fox trying to pounce-out a mouse. When she pounced on him, he froze and she was absolutely appalled. She ran back to me in horror, went back to try and get the ‘possum to move again, and then appeared to feel so bad about the whole thing, she wouldn’t even pee. The animal got up a few minutes later and wandered off, but Mina was certain she had killed him and, in my anthropomorphic view of the matter, she felt quite put-off by that.

   
   
2. on November 15, 2009 at 9:08 pm Christopher@BorderWars

   I agree with Rinalia, the dogs had this thing totally covered when the owners were too paralyzed to figure it out. Smart dogs.

   
   
   • on November 15, 2009 at 11:03 pm retrieverman

     I actually had this happen once with my golden boxer.

     It wasn’t in the house, but when she set it down, it eventually came to its senses and wandered off.

     It originally came to while in the dog’s jaws. One of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. And it just sat there, until it back into its playing dead state.

     
     
3. on November 15, 2009 at 11:25 pm HTTrainer

   Mine keep finding voles and mice. Fortunately, they dispatch them and leave them outside.
   All the rain from the Ida phenomenon has saturated the soil and the holes of these pests.
   They are running around under the grasses, with the dogs having a scent overload.

   
   
   • on November 16, 2009 at 2:33 am retrieverman

     The best vole dog I ever knew was Dalmatian.

     He may not have been the brightest dog.

     But he was murder on meadow voles and southern bog lemmings.

     
     
4. on November 16, 2009 at 10:12 pm flattie-n-Labbie

   Possum. Shovel.

   I think I would have been sorely tempted to take care of business a little differently. Don’t know exactly what I would have done, however.

   One of the few animals I just plain can’t stand. Sorry if that offends.

   
   
5. on November 17, 2009 at 5:56 am patti S.

   I’d be careful of the shovel approach, F&L. Years ago, a couple of high school pranksters that I know caught a possum & painted it their school colors. They released it in the school library, where a custodian tried to push it into a trash-can with a push-broom. It ran right up the handle, and was not a happy camper.

   
   
   • on November 17, 2009 at 2:37 pm retrieverman

     When my grandpa was in high school, they once took a dairy cow, led it up the stairs to the library, and left it there for a weekend. They put some grain and water in a bucket, and boy, was the librarian ticked off at the mess!

     
     
     • on November 17, 2009 at 3:10 pm patti S.

       Your grandpa and his friends might have heard of the MIT students that did the same thing. There is a wonderful book on college pranks that gets it’s name from that incident —

       http://www.amazon.com/If-All-Possible-Involve-Cow/dp/0312078102/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4314510-8087968?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175439737&sr=1-1

       
       
       • on November 17, 2009 at 5:50 pm retrieverman

         I somehow doubt that.

         This is rural and small town West Virginia, and back then, it was even more so.

         Doing things to cows was the entertainment.

         He and his brother once painted a black dairy cow white (it was some kind holstein/shorthorn cross).

         The owner pastured his cow near their house, and my great grandfather woke up to find a white cow standing in the pasture, he nearly died laughing.

         
         
6. on November 17, 2009 at 1:51 pm flattie-n-Labbie

   I wasn’t really thinking of pushing it… more like clobbering it…

   
   
7. on November 17, 2009 at 4:36 pm Lane Batot

   Memories, memories! College pranks? I could write a book! A series of books, actually! But for brevity’s sake, let’s just stick with animal related pranks–I used to catch ‘possums and holding them by the tail, hang them just over someone’s face while they were sleeping, and then nudge them awake(sometimes the ‘possum dripping and drooling did the waking!)–great reactions! ‘Possums then released unharmed…I didn’t have great access to cows or horses(as in “Animal House”), but I did perpetrate quite a few chicken releases in undesirable areas–amazing how much poo excited chickens can produce! And how embarrassing for our (crooked) Security force that had to catch them in front of laughing students! I managed to get a small flock into the college auditorium(where there was a class the next day); also a girl’s dormitory bathroom(and this dorm was really difficult to get in after curfew–we had to have “inside help”), and my greatest of all achievements, some chickens released in the campus Security office(absolutely a MUST after the Security force swore publically to bring the chicken thieves to justice!)–and as the Statute-Of-Limitations has now expired, I can relate these incidents without fear(also because most of those involved have died of old age!). Drugs and Alchohol? Who needed those to have fun in their misspent youth?

   
   
8. on November 17, 2009 at 4:42 pm Lane Batot

   But back to dogs catching ‘possums. If any of my dogs catch a ‘possum, it don’t never wake up again!(Alas). And I am VERY thankful if it is only a ‘POSSUM that they catch–the other morning my huskies had caught and killed a SKUNK(they now think skunks are THE BEST dog toys!)–I could elaborate, but it is NOT a purty story–perhaps Karma for all those college pranks?

   
   

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