My brother, who lived in a ground-floor apartment at the time, once found that mama possum had crawled in through the sliding door at some point and left a baby in the cupboard under the sink. It was hanging upside down, with its tail wrapped around the sink trap. After a while, when it became apparent that mama was not coming back, he raised it as a pet. It was very sweet-tempered and liked to curl its tail around his fingers. It would indeed play dead if startled.
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To show the possum it could be done!
Having personally saved two medium/large dogs* from a possum, I can say this is a losing strategy. I’ve seldom been so scared, and the dogs only managed to keep herding the thing back toward me every time I got it to try and leave.
If I ever see an angry possum again, I’m gonna R.U.N.N.O.F.T.
*One of whom was a border collie who should have known better, and the other who was a ginormous hound mix who should have made himself more useful. I’m just sayin’.
Although they are mostly used to protect sheep and smaller livestock, they will ‘bond’ with just about any animal including chickens.
My neighbor had a teensy white rat-on-a-string white toy poodle. One night she let WTP out in the back to do her business, and there happened to be a possum out there on the deck sniffing around. WTP took off after it like a bat out of hell and went straight for the possum’s neck…oh, it was ugly. Didn’t kill the thing, but certainly tried.
My GrandMother had a poodle like that. Not quite a toy, but the next size up. Gidget ::shudder:: was mean as a snake and twice as hungry. Most folks don’t give poodles half the credit they deserve.
Not all dogs are created equal. 
Once had a GSP that was pure death on anything equal in size or smaller than him that wasn’t a dog or a human. Wild pigs, snakes, skunks ( :eek: ), cats, mice, rats, rabbits, 'possums, fox, sparrows, blue jays, you name it - He killed it, or tried.
OTOH, I’ve a monster dog now whom couldn’t care less. It’s the border-mutt who’s the killer these days.
I remember that one. God, that was pure evil.
Opossum make Awesome pets. You should read up on them. Pretty interesting misunderstood critter.
True Story, My dad had one as a pet. One day a bible salesman came knocking at the door.
My very young nephew let him in (why, I dont know.) So the salesman sits in the dining room and waits for my dad to come out. All of a sudden we heard a scream and a door slam. We were like “what the fuuuck was that?” I get to the dining room and “Stewie” (pet opossum) was standing on a dining room chair looking at me like “who the fucks the retard who woke me up”
Then yawns and lays back down. HaaHaa I loved my little bible saleman deterrent opossum pal!
Who gets that one? Paul Lynde?
Granny for Possum Queen!
I used to purposely run them over if I see them on a country road. It was like hunting, I have a big weapon and the possum is too ugly to live. Sometimes they are fast and can get out of the way, mostly they weren’t.