Update on Chloe re: Racoon

[Lilah Charm]

I also wanted to mention that although it is true that possums are not successful enough to be considered an invasive species (at least here in America) and can often be seen merely lumbering around that they do carry leprosy and those wicked teeth are no joke- especially if they have their babies with them. We have had one getting into our garbage and climbing under our porch lately and that is not okay with me.

[DBlain]

glad to hear everything is OK, hugs to Chloe

[Yorkiemom1]

Coming back from the barn one night years ago, I found a possum that had been hit by a car....and its mate was standing there beside it....we stopped to move the dead one from the road because the mate was so distressed, and OMG! there were babies in the pouch of the dead momma! My husband pulled 13 tiny baby possums from her pouch and long story short, I hand raised those stinky tiny little souls.....tube fed them until they could eat from a plate....then I had to teach them all the things possums do! I had to teach them how to break eggs open and eat the contents, root for grub worms, eat banannas from the tree we had in the back yard, eat all the other things possums eat, they used to follow me around like they would their momma....the zoo told me I should have killed them all, they were considered a nuisance....I took them out to my acreage in the country and turned them all loose when they were 6 months old......they all tried to follow me back to the car.....took a whole bunch of time and teaching to get them to remain behind on the property.....I hope they all did well, there were tons of wild berries and stuff for them to eat...a ranch next door that had chickens..... but I try not to think about it too much because I worry about them!

[Maximo]

I am very happy that Chloe is doing well and escaped the attack unharmed! Such a terrifying ordeal for both of you. Sending best wishes and hugs to your baby girl.

[Yorkie_25]

Originally Posted by Lizchloe

We went to the vet the next morning, the vet checked Chloe over very well and did not find any injuries, the vet said Chloe did not need a booster shot, because Chloe only had her shots 6 months ago, but just keep a close eye on her and look for any swelling or bumps, but very unlikely because she could not find any injuries. Chloe is her happy, bouncy self. I am so greatful that my precious Chloe is ok, we are so lucky, God was definately looking out for her. She is pee pad trained and I have not taken her out in the backyard since. I have not seen the racoon again, is there something you can put in the yard that racoons hate, and will stay away from ???? Chloe and I want to Thank You all very much for your well wishes, concern and advice, it is so nice to have YorkieTalk, you all know how precious these little ones are, and we appreciate the friendship. Sincerely Liz, Chloe & Abby

So happy it all worked out! Great news!

[Shicks]

What about scathing moth balls?

[Mayzoo]

Originally Posted by JadeD

Opossums are typically not an aggressive animal. It would have played dead if Cody attacked it so you could have grabbed him. Opossums rarely attack and they really do play dead as a first defense and hope the other animal thinks they are not worth their time. Raccoon's are much more dangerous to a dog because they will immediately fight back.

My mom gets opossums in her house sometimes as they come in through the doggie door and they just play dead behind the couch while the s**tz Tzu and Boxer bark at it and then my step dad has to removed it from the house.

Opossums have such a bad rap when they really aren't nearly as bad as what people think. Raccoon's are much more likely to give your dog rabies and to also attack your dog. Opossums are ugly, but they are not very aggressive and mostly just curious animals. If you see an aggressive opossum then I would be concerned about it having parvo or rabies. Parvo presents with a lot of the same symptoms as rabies does in wild animals.

From a scientific point of view, it is extremely rare for an opossum to carry rabies where a raccoon has a much higher risk of having the disease. Opossum's body temperature is much lower than a lot of the other wildlife and the rabies virus can't survive at that temp, also, they rarely fight with other carriers of the disease to pick it up as well. Squirrels are the same way, there are no documented cases in the US of a squirrel giving rabies to a person or pet. Just wanted to throw that out there so if your dog does have an encounter with a opossum and it barks at a "playing dead" one I would not be overly concerned about rabies, just make sure your dog is up to date on it's vaccination.

Most our Opossum play dead. I have run into two in our trash cans that hissed and barred their teeth at me with no indication of backing down any time soon. Not sure if they were rabid, or just hungry, but also not willing to find out .