Jethro and the Opossum

[Grumpy Gator]

Since I wake up early every day I have gotten into a routine of starting the coffee and walking the dogs. Today there was a new wrinkle. Jethro the 14 month old Catahola was off the leash ranging out in search of the elusive candy wrapper nose down tail up sticks his head into some tall grass and stops.Next I hear him growl then he starts baying .So I go over to see whats up.He is nose to nose with a opossum.The hair on his back is up all the way to the end of his tail,so I call him to heel. He comes to me barking and howling and bumps me on the leg than back to the tall grass.He wants to play but the opossum has other ideas. For the next 20 minutes he is tearing arround trying his best to get the opossum to play.But the opossum sticks to his plan alternating between playing dead and bowing up and snarling. By this time I've had enough and go into the tall grass and put him on his leash and drag him out.
All the way home he is walking proud.Every 10 feet turning arround and barking. Back at the house he gets a big drink and then they crawl under my feet and take a nap probably dreaming of his next big adventure.
********Just Saying********G*******

 

[ScrapMetal]

Loved the anecdote! I have my own issue with 'possums and my dog. There seem to be a fair number of opossum in our area and one of their main travel paths is past our back yard (the dog's yard).

Our yard is fenced in with a standard 4' chain link fence. The neighbors behind us put up a six foot wooden privacy fence between our yards leaving a 16" gap between our fences. Now, as the opossum is nocturnal, they tend to try and use the path between our fences or just climb on the wooden privacy fence to get past our yard.

Our dog does not find this amusing at all. He "goes ape" whenever he finds one sneaking around, usually around one or two in the morning. He occasionally is able to grab one so he's fairly strident about the pursuit. Here I should probably add that our dog can be LOUD! He is a full grown rottweiler that weighs in at about 110 lbs and his bark can set off car alarms two blocks away.

Depending on how the opossum is traveling, ground or fence, I take one of two actions. The "fence" is a quick but temporary solution. I simply push the critter off the fence to the opposite side, grab my much confounded dog, and take him back in to the house for a while. On the ground between the fences is a bit trickier but more permanent. I grab a five gallon bucket out of the garage, reach over the chain link fence and place the bucket over the late night offender. Once he is "out of sight" it's easier to gain control of the dog and get him in to the house. My work isn't done though. I then grab the "live" trap I bought to try and help deal with the whole situation and set it next to the bucket. I tilt one side of the bucket up and scoot the 'possum in to the trap. Go get dressed and place him/her in the back of my truck. I then drive about five miles and release it on the opposite side of a river.

Why don't I simply use a little lead? A couple of reasons. First of all, since our (forceful) annexation by the city, use of any kind of firearm, even a air rifle, could get me in big trouble if reported by one of the neighbors. Most are friendly as well as sympathetic except for the couple of houses behind me where the residents seem to be real "pieces of work" if you get my meaning. Then there is that fact that I kind of have a soft spot for the little critters.

Oh well, :biggrin:

-Ron

 

[Inflight]

My neighbor's dogs don't care much for the opossums traveling the backyard fences every evening but I like 'em because they rid my garden of snails and slugs.


Matt

 

[jpfabricator]

I once had a bull possum that would come up on the front porch to whip the cats, and steal the cat food.
I laid in wait for him on Saturday night with the 12 gauge. I had a magazine tube full of 8oz steel (water foul shot). About midnight I hear the cats moaning and hissing their protest at the unwelcome visitor.
I sling open the front door and hit the porch light, but he has made a break for it! I throw the shotgun up to my shoulder just as he scamppers out of the edge of the light. I squeezed off the first and only shot, and hear a sickening thud of steel shot meeting somthing thats not possum.
I got dressed and went to invesagate. Thats when I discover in the light of my maglight I have made a clen kill. Unfortunatly it wasent the possum, it was my wifes selfpropeled lawn mower.
It had run out of gas earlier that afternoon, and she left it in the front yard intending to refuel it and finish mowing the next morning.
I stayed in the doghouse over that mistake for a looong while.
Jake Parker

 

[Cactus Farmer]

Possums seem to like cat food and if you feed 'em enough they can get really big. A smooth bore 22 rat shot at 6 inch range did not kill him, but as soon as he came out of the igloo cat feeding house the HP to the noggin did the trick. I knew better than to shoot mommas cat feeder.
Ya see, she's allergic to cats but hates mice and other rodent type critters more.

 

[valleyboy101]

Jethro figures that he did himself proud and kicked some possum butt - always good to leave walking tall.
Michael

 

[Big Rack]

My very mett size dauschund likes to go out in the morning and "talk" to the other side of the alley and the other side of the fence dogs. You would swear they were drinking coffee and catching up of course some mornings the neighbor hood cat scares him. The cat seems to have the ability to laugh.

 

[Rbeckett]

Our back 40 is a much traveled access path that the local critters avail them selves of all the time. The 2 German Shepherds don't care for this so they do bark a good bit till they are gone. I have been tempted to pop them with my magnim air rifle but I have a personal policy of eat what you shoot and Possum is nasty and greasy so I let them pass. The foxes and the small deer are a bonus and Momma would have a cow if I shot one of them. And the raccoons are off limits too. So I just call the girls in and change their focus so they stop barking. By the time they go back out the critter is gone and the barking stops.

Bob