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Pumpkingirl
March 5th, 2011, 6:28 PM
We have rarely left our "outside" dog OUT since the snow. The other night we fed her outside and brought her in soon after.
We left the blinds open on the sliding glass door and suddenly my husband screamed "WTF"...seriously he did.
The biggest possum I have EVER seen was eating all the left over food and it WOULDN'T leave. It had to be 20lbs and had like hair in places. My husband opened the door and it didn't leave....what the hell, we then started yelling...still sat eating (we then realized she is old school, so we got some tennis balls and started throwing them...STILL FRIGGIN ATE).
Now we are a bit freaked out and just left well enough alone the dogs are inside... BUT my question finally.
Are possums aggressive? If our dog had happened to be outside would she be attacked? Do they carry rabies? Should we alert animal control (this sucker was BIG).
And finally UGH....those tails are downright terrifying.

THEMEANOGRE
March 5th, 2011, 7:30 PM
Opossums do indeed carry rabies. Look for excessive salivation. Opossums are nocturnal creatures. If they are active during daylight hours that would be a good indication that there is something wrong. I don't know that a possum would attack a dog, unless the dog saw the possum as a threat and attacked first. Of course, with a rabid one, all bets are off.

Spartan
March 5th, 2011, 7:47 PM
I caught a possum in my cat trap last night. Ugly critter... I don't know why I let it go.

Rotti_mama
March 5th, 2011, 7:55 PM
Those tails .. oh my!

babyblue
March 5th, 2011, 8:24 PM
We had one get in our house one time and had several caught in traps. Animal control told us that it is "possible" for them to have rabies but it is very rare. They are also usually more scared of people and dogs and will just want to get away. We were told not to worry about our dogs.

SamBrown
March 5th, 2011, 10:35 PM
My husband says they also have a hell of a bite.......
Rottie_mama, love the pic of your baby; girl or boy?

CenTexDave
March 6th, 2011, 10:35 AM
If you ever saw the teeth on a grown, mature possum you'd steer clear of it. While they while lay down and "play possum", they can be aggressive if attacked.
Had one swimming in my pool one year. Drove my dog nuts. lol

Rotti_mama
March 6th, 2011, 10:47 AM
My husband says they also have a hell of a bite.......
Rottie_mama, love the pic of your baby; girl or boy?

It's a girl. She is 2.5 years old.

dawglover
March 6th, 2011, 4:20 PM
We stupidly left our garage door open one night several years ago and a mammoth possum came in forging for food and decided to spend the night. The next morning when I was getting in my truck I saw the thing sleeping like a baby. I walked up near it and noticed its gigantic and razor sharp teeth. At the time I didn't have a gun (that will never happen again) so I called the cops. A Sheriff Deputy came by and he had to shot it twice at close range with a .22 cal to kill it. He told me that a possum like that would rip most dogs to shreds, especially if it was rabid. You're lucky your dogs were in the house or they would most likely have tried to protect their turf and become that possum's meal and you would have been ripped to pieces trying to protect them without a gun. That's why homeowners need guns for rabid animals, snakes, and not just for criminals who mean them harm. I learned my lesson, that’s for sure. Imagine having to watch your beloved dog get ripped to shreds by a possum. I think I would have had to grab a knife and taken the risk of getting ripped up trying to save my dogs because I just couldn't stand to see something like that. I love my dogs to much. Thank God my dogs were inside also.

Pumpkingirl
March 6th, 2011, 7:00 PM
Ugh I don't know...I don't think we could have shot it...seriously. We felt a bit off throwing tennis balls. We have googled alot about possums...we are really scared, most was basic info and we realize situations differ.
The teeth on pics were scary but to be honest this big hummer mummer possum in OUR backyard was FAT, had alot of hairloss and didn't fear humans.
OF Course our baby girl was steaming up the window trying to get out BUT she IS an American Pit Bull and has NEVER known aggression....we didn't want to leave this one to chance.
Our neighborhood is FULL of dogs, I don't think there is a home without one. This "ol possum" WILL eventually be confronted by one of these dogs.....
animal control should take sightings like these seriously and set cages.

Pumpkingirl
March 6th, 2011, 7:10 PM
It's a girl. She is 2.5 years old.
She is BEAUTIFUL......we love our pitties but have steered clear of rotts because honestly we have never had a friend or a neighbor who we could question about attitude, temperment, basic skills.
Of course you can ask people on the internet but don't we all say what ALL want to hear. I like results.
Beautiful breed and often attacked.....as is our dog of choice......(who is currrently nubbing my toe...she loves feet).
Perhaps you can PM me with some more info.

curmudgeon
March 7th, 2011, 7:19 PM
Last spring, my 40 lbs terrier got a hold of a giant possum and shredded it to pieces before I could pull her off. She was scratched on the nose so I called the vet. They told me there hasn't been a case of rabies in a possum in Bell county in many years. However, I carted the carcass to the vet and they tested it. It came up negative.