[Ojai]

I'm a wildlife rehabber, and opossums are really very docile creatures. They have two defense mechanisms: "gaping" (when they make that mean, ugly face, but have nothing to back it up), and "playing dead." Whenever I've rehabbed opossums, and they start that gaping, I tell them to knock it off because they are not fooling me! Most of the mischief for which opossums get blamed is the work of raccoons (and they are mean, nasty critters). The biggest threat to our doggies from opossums are fleas, which can be a real pain. I've been bitten by squirrels, pecked at by birds, but have never had any problems with opossums (but they don't bond ... squirrels and birds will come back, but once I release an opossum, I never see it again!).