Mr. Whiskers - The Possum

[Anikaca77]

Mr. Whiskers-

I met you on the road, Wed. May 19th. You were confused about where to go and what to do. I contacted a local person who used to rescue wildlife and take care of them. They told me you would no harm to me so I snatched you up by the back of your neck. I have to admit your teeth scared me a tad but I kept a hold of you and got you into a cat carrier. I took you over to the wildlife caretaker and she provided you with yummy food and you survived as long as you could. You looked as though you had a wonderful life but you were old. I didn’t know what your fate was going to be but I hoped that someday we would be able to release you out into the wild. Sadly, on Friday, May 21st your time had come to leave this world. You are now released to the animal place where you will have lots of food hopefully and be taken care of. I hope I did what was best for you.

Take care, Mr. Whiskers.

Melissa

[Catherinedana]

You did a good thing, Melissa.

[happylabs]

A possum? I am surprised they told you it could do you no harm. You realize they are one of the biggest carriers of rabies? Usually if they are wandering around confused that means they are rabid. We had one in our yard years ago and it was circling the yard. I called my neighbor over and he put it to rest. It's eyes and nose were runny. Could have attacked someone's dog or cat. I think it is best to leave wild animals in the wild.

[Anikaca77]

Well she said that there was a myth of them carrying rabies and that is what most people think but she thinks there were able to confirm 1 case or so that it was rabies.

I'm not doubting the one that you had in your yard had rabies, but if he would of hissed at me or tried to scratch me I would of went the other direction but I couldn't leave him out there to die. I just couldn't.

Melissa

[Medusa]

Well she said that there was a myth of them carrying rabies and that is what most people think but she thinks there were able to confirm 1 case or so that it was rabies.

I'm not doubting the one that you had in your yard had rabies, but if he would of hissed at me or tried to scratch me I would of went the other direction but I couldn't leave him out there to die. I just couldn't.

Melissa

Yes, I sometimes wonder about these stories, not yours, Melissa, the stories of rabies. A couple of weeks ago my neighbor (Mr. Cat Kicker) knocked on my door and said "Did you know that there's a racoon in your back yard?" I looked and sure enough there was a racoon eating the fallen birdseed. He said "When a racoon is out during the day, it's rabid. Our neighbor a couple of doors down shot one b/c it was foaming at the mouth. I think I should shoot this one." I said "Do you have to? It doesn't look sick to me". He said "I won't shoot it if you don't want me to but if it comes into my yard, I will b/c my kids are out playing". It went the other direction when it saw him and it ran out of my yard. I heard two shots but thankfully I didn't see it.

After that happened I looked up some info on the internet and several sites said that it's a myth that if you see racoons during the day that they're always rabid. It's very common for a racoon to be out during the day b/c she's looking for extra food for her babies. I can't tell you how awful I felt. Then I went out looking for baby racoons b/c if there were any, I would have called my local vet who rescues wild life. I searched for a long time and couldn't find any so I'm hoping that it was a lone racoon.

I kind of got off on my own story, Melissa, sorry to have done that. You did a good thing nonetheless. I probably would've done the same thing.

[Vette]

I too wonder about that. many nocturnal animals venture out during the day for some reason/s or another sometimes. doesnt make them rabid.

i think ya did a good thing