Possum

Our house backs up to a small wooded area, and on the other side new houses are being built. Needless to say we have been seeing many new critters come through our backyard for quite some time since they are being forced out of their homes. About a year ago my husband and I heard a noise in our attic. We realized that a rat had gotten up there. I was really freaked out, but told my husband I was ok as long as none came INSIDE the house. We called the exterminator to come out and set traps in the attic to catch the pesky rodents, so I was happy knowing they would soon be gone.

A couple nights later we were watching TV. We were laughing at our dogs because Hooch (pictured below)

 

kept trying to get in Mollie's (pictured below) bed!!

Of course he's a horse compared to her, so only his head fit in her bed. She would get mad and go to the back door and bark. He would get up and go running outside to protect her and she would run back and get in her bed while he was outside! We kept laughing because this went on all night. It was late in the evening and I leaned over the couch to pet whichever dog was in control of the bed at that moment. I'm sooo glad I looked before petting because when I looked down, in the light of the TV the fur in the bed was NOT the color of either of my dogs and a long rat tail was hanging over the side. I screamed and said to Justin, "Please don't tell me that's what I think it is." We both thought it was a rat since we knew there was one in the attic. I jumped up and ran across the room to get away from it and turn on the light. Justing started looking at it and realized it was not a rat, but couldn't figure out what it was. He got a towel to pick it up because it looked dead. When he picked it up, this is what we saw:

A POSSUM!!! When he picked it up by the tail, it opened it's mouth and tried to hiss at him. We learned what it means to "play possum" that night. We figure the dogs cornered it in the backyard, injured it, it started to "play possum", they thought it was dead and brought it in the house. We have NO clue which one found it, which one caught it, or which one brought it in the house. It's all a mystery...but it's gross that A POSSUM WAS IN MY HOUSE IN MY DOG'S BED!!!! I'm just soo thankful that Mollie did not bring it in during the middle of the night and put it up in the bed with us!!!