The Creep Who Sneaks in My Backyard at Night
86Meet Jaysee, Protector from Evil
It happens almost every night. A stranger sneaks into my backyard. Sneaking in so slowly and quietly, that if it weren't for my dog Jaysee, I would never even know this stranger was there.
It gives me the willies just to think about it.
On this particular night, like any other night, I was watching a little televison, trying to unwind. I was probably watching the latest cooking challenge on the Food Network, when Jaysee started barking.
Jaysee is our very cute, very smart, little 2 year old dog that we rescued from the shelter when she was about 6 months old. The sweetest dog who wouldn't hurt a flea...she would rather bark it to death.
I recognized this kind of bark. She was barking this high pitched I'm-scared-and-I-don't-know-why-this-stranger-is-here-in-MY-territory type of bark. So, I got up to investigate.
She was pointed in the corner of the yard, in a small clearing at the back fence under one of my small plumeria trees. Each time she barked, she'd jerk forward, then quickly back away.
She had cornered something!
I grabbed the flashlight and quickly turned on the backyard light. Then I saw the most ugly, most evil and sinister looking animal that I have ever seen.
A Possum!
Yes, a possum.
Just sitting there, looking at the dog, calmly looking around for a way out. When Jaysee got a little too close, the possum reared its ugly head, hissed and showed its teeth.
Oh my gawd...what am I going to do NOW?
How dare this menacing marsupial harass my beloved dog! First cousin to a rat, sibling to an alien...usually seen on my way to work as roadkill!
Well, I knew I had to get Jaysee away from this strange animal. But, Jaysee is one stubborn dog. She had her eyeballs focused on tearing that little animal to shreds. Actually, she was focused on making that little animal think she was going to tear it to shreds. Either way, she was not about to listen to my commands to get back. This was her backyard, and she was intent on taking care of business.
So I grabbed the garden hose, turned on the water and aimed the spray between the two of them, hoping to scare away the possum, and hoping to cool Jaysee down a bit.
Jaysee darted one way, and the possum went running the other way. Whew... mission accomplished!
Well, not quite.
Before I knew it, Jaysee darted around me, and back over to the fence to claim her "prey". She caught the possum as it was sprinting away. Oh, my gosh, Jaysee yelped and ran toward me.
Oh no. It all happened so fast.
I screamed for my daughter, Sarah, to come help me. I quickly told Sarah what happened, and had her check Jaysee for any wounds or bleeding around her snout and paws.
All I could think of was the "R" word...Rabies. Oh please, God, no.
Then I went over to see the damage done to the possum. If Jaysee was hurt, I needed to keep the possum for the authorities.
It was dead.
Now what am I going to do? By this time, it's 10:30 at night. If ever there was ever, this was one of those times when I missed having a man around.
I told myself, "ok, Pam, this is when you need to suck it up and just deal with it!"
So, I went in the garage and put on my gardening gloves. I pulled out an empty box to deposit the ugly carcass. I needed a shovel to scoop it up, but that was a tool that I haven't quite gotten around to getting just yet. In terms of spending priority, shovels come in at about fifth in line after hair perms and pedicures.
A rake! Perfect.
Ok, I can do this. I'll scoop it up with the rake. I'm protected because I'm wearing gloves. I call Sarah over to hold the flashlight so I can see what I'm doing.
I scoop up the little Creature from Mars, and find that it is so heavy that my aluminum-spronged rake isn't going to hold it.
Sh*t! This means I have to pick it up with my hands!
Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!
Sarah, holding our dog back and screaming from afar, keeps telling me to be careful, and is truly very diligent in her reminders of how disgusting possums are. No duh...
Focus, Pam, focus....I'm trying to figure my next move...
I put the rake down. I take a deep breath, and prepare myself that, now, I'm going to have to...pick up this THING by the tail...with my hands....and move it to the inside of the box. (A little vomit just moved up my esophagus.)
I'm as ready as I guess I'll ever be....
I turn around to pick it up, and lo and behold, it is sitting in an upward position, eyes wide open, looking up at me.
SH*T!!! I scream!
Then Sarah screams. She screams, I scream, and it sure AIN'T for ice cream!
I take the box I had set aside for its limp body, and turned it upside down on its VERY ALIVE body. I threw a few rocks on it and backed away. Sh*t!
At least I trapped it. It won't hurt my dog anymore tonight.
Ok, now there must be someone we can call - at now 11:00 at night. The lines at the LA County Animal Control kept ringing. No answer. So, I called the police.
"I have this trapped wild animal in my backyard.....can you help me??"
By this time, I didn't care WHO came, I just wanted someone to help me with this creature from the prehistoric era of wild vermin.
The police dispatcher told me that Animal Control should be in their offices, "they just probably went to the bathroom or something. Try again". So I tried again. And again, and again.
Finally, I got someone. "Please help me...I have a wild possum trapped in my backyard. It bit my dog. I'm scared. Take it away."
"I'm sorry, we only make pick ups between 8:00am and 5:00pm. If you like, I can have someone come by tomorrow morning, first thing."
"Fine, whatever." Click.
So I turn my attention back to Jaysee. No blood, no wounds. She's fine. Oh, thank goodness. What a relief.
We turn the lights off. Jaysee turns in for the night in Sarah's room...and we all go to bed.
The Next Morning
After being up all night with possum patrol, and hardly getting any sleep after such a traumatic adventure, I get up at 6:00am as usual, and I still need to go to work.
Before I even brush my teeth, I go outside to take a peek at my prisoner. After everything we'd gone through the night before, I just had to make sure it was still there.
GONE.
Flew the coop. Escape from Alcatraz. Took a bus. Adios.
End of story.
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same with me rachael! In australia we get heaps of possums, i dont see whats so bad about them!
great story i thoght it actully was a guy
My 10 year old shepard mix caught a possum in our yard
sunday night . She was very proud of her accomplishment and tail wagging as my Husband retrieved the possum's body .Killing any kind of animalis Not something i would teach my Doggies to do as most doggie parents would probably agree , but never the less it happened and i was relieved to see my Trinity was ok . My other male shepard didnt seem to want any part of the ordeal and just stood and barked .We went on to work and thought not much more of the ordeal for the day .
I got home first that afternoon and as usual went in the front door and straight out the back to see my Babies but to my horror only my male dog came to greet me and i found my precious Trinity laying as if sleeping but didnt move , she had died . She had thrown up a little and later my husband told me she had bitten through her tongue , Trinity weighed about 130 pounds
and was a very healthy girl . The vet said it seemed she had had a stroke .We had no funds to do further investigating by test and had no choice to accept what we where told but in the back of my mind i keep thinking it was something to do with that Possom .
So please keep your loved babies away from those scoundrels . Trinity is so missed and our male "Memphis" who has been Trinity's side kick since birth 10 years ago is lost with out her . I am sorry but i will always hate possums now and will take whatever measures to keep them outa my yard .
Awe! Well, it's called 'Playing Possum" afterall. I don't know what I would've done. You are super brave! The giant spiders seem to watch as my husband leaves for out-of-town... they have 8 little surveillence camaras to catch everything. Then they want to hang out and wait for me to take a shower. Bast*rds.
The signature can only be a reflection of its writer. Your comment was the most "stupidest idiotic drama" comment that I've ever read!
its wildlife. how about leave it alone. it was bound to leave you alone until you created unnecessary hysteria and threatened its space dummy. your dog should've been bitten cause that's what it would have deserved. so its ugly, who cares! gimme a break! ugly doesn't justify maliciously attempting to harm the Lord's creatures. good grief. get a life. chances are you were ugly to it, too.
HA - Jurassic Park! Too funny! I've been pretty busy lately and am just now getting caught up on some comments. Thanks for sharing your story - and I am glad that I am not the only one who gets grossed out!!
What a hilarious "adventure"!! I can relate to these awful creatures. Several years ago, we lived in Florida, and had a screened enclosure over our swimming pool. I began to notice that it appeared that a German Shepherd, or, upon further examination of the fecal matter's dimensions, perhaps something from Jurassic Park, was taking a dump on the screened roof of this enclosure. Not only was it gross to look at, but imagine how appealing it was to go swimming in our pool after one of the frequent torrential rains rinsed some of the disgusting lump into our pool water. Ultimately, we got a "live trap", put a piece of apple in it, and , lo and behold, we caught a possum! I had a hard time doing the math, imagining that the turd the size of a VW Beetle came out of this demonic looking rat-cousin. Anyway, I took it out into the boonies and turned it loose. Come to think of it, maybe it caught a ride out west!? Did it have "apple" on its breath?
Thanks for a hilarious look at the joys of home ownership and backyard living!
Hi David and sheryl! Thanks for your comments....!
sheryl, we are ok...now I just stay away from them completely!! David - you're right! Jaysee is awesome!
Pam great story hope you are all ok get a trap but be careful cause they do play asleep watch for rabies they are horrid
Yes those possums are there basically every night and if it were not for amazing jasey we would never know of those ugly things crawling along the wall
Hey Shadesbreath - ok, I admit at first I ignored the comment about the prehensile tail - I just think that YOU would be so much cuter with it!
And - Hi Tater2tot! Thanks so much for your nice words!! I look forward to reading your hubs!!
Great writing! You had me sooo involved... and kept me guessing. I thought a strange man was in your backyard and it was starting to scare me until I saw that picture and that bold heading of "A POSSUM".
You still know you wish you had a prehensile tail.
Thanks, dineane! They are persistent little animals, aren't they! The one that played "possum" with me in this story keeps coming around...I just let him be and bring our dog inside. Glad you enjoyed!
We caught one in your Uncle Kirk's have-a-heart trap and released it in the swamp behind the stables.
They really are harmless and not prone to rabies the way racoons are.
I remember a family of possums living under my grandmother's sink when I was little. The babies were definitely cute! They trapped those possums and tried to relocated them to an abandoned house across the street - on the fourth try they realized the possums needed to be released a lot farther from home :-) Enjoyed your hub!
You're right, Shadesbreath! I wouldn't get that close to a possum to take his/her pic...! While I agree with you that they're one of nature's critters - hence, I wouldn't have wanted to kill it. But I still totally can't stand 'em! I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'll have to put them in the same creepy category as spiders, snakes and mice!
You had me laughing with your comments - but the pink noses and white faces?? You can keep 'em!! ;)
Great story, and that picture of the possum on the wire is pretty good, but I think I figured out that wasn't the one from your story given the hoses and boxes. For second I thought you were a first rate photographer! (Although, you do get credit for the one of your dog lol.)
I grew up way out in the country and have to say that I don't really find them repugnant like many of the comments on here suggest other's do. They're cute and they're one of nature's critters. I'd rather have one of them running around my yard that a swarm of wasps or some black widows and stuff. LOL. And someone pointed out how cute their babies are above. They arefully cute with their pink noses and white faces. And, seriously, don't try to pretend you wouldn't want a prehensile tail if you could get one. How cool would that be?
Hi solarcaptain - I can't even imagine these things coming INTO my house! I would totally freak out! I'm so glad you finally got rid of them and your cat is back to normal! Thanks for taking the time to share your story!!
Good story. You handled the situation well. I was drawn to the story, having just rid my home of these nasty little creatures. The danger is in the vermin they carry. They don't really have much in the way of a bite. They are good at playing dead.
They are protected here in S California. My cat had been upset about the state of her food bowl for about a week. She wouldn't eat. Finally I saw why. A rat like creature had been eating her food. She wouldn't go near the thing, where normally she would chase off any intruder. I struggled for several days trying to get them out. When I would catch one possum another would take its place. There was a whole family living in the house. They came in through the cat door. Then I found one in the toilet, drowned. Trying to escape from me it had chosen the worst possible place to hide.
I laid its body outside on their path. They never returned, except for a tiny one tht came up the steps and just looked at me. I felt badly but I was glad the messy critters were gone. My cat is back to her normal self. Now I am wondering if it was really dead.
thanks for an interesting and true story.
Hi C.S. ! Thanks for your comments! I really do appreciate the wildlife aspect of these creatures and where we live. They are just so darn scary looking! I'm glad you enjoyed!
There was a time when I had an opossum and several raccoons that came to my screen door each night before dark. They would come right up and eat an oatmeal cookie right from my hand. They are sorta ugly but are more afraid of us than we should be of them. They will hiss if they get cornered but mostly would rather move off into the dark.
I trapped three babies in a place I was renting too. They were coming up through a dryer vent in the floor at night. I did have trouble sleeping until I caught them and relocated them. I love the wild animals and am thankful when they come in for closer viewing. Your story was much fun! Thank you for sharing. C.S. Alexis
Thanks so much, Guru-C ! I really appreciate the your kind words!!
Wonderful writing!!!!
Hi beth and Lydia! Thanks so much! We got a good laugh - and it turned out to be good inspiration for this hub!! Glad you got a kick out it!!
There are some creatures that make me wonder what in the WORLD God was thinking when he created them. Pidgeons, misquitos, and possums for sure! Worthless creatures...
lol! I love reading your story. You really did get a story out of that sneaky possum. :)
Ok..well...Tom - what you said....very ecologically factual...thank you very much!!
Take THAT - ground_stompers_wife...
Actually...I think when you boil down all the scientific facts around the possum creature, I still have to say that they are STILL DISGUSTING! Now that I know that they are flea-bitten, disease-ridden...ewwww...well - maybe next time I WILL shoot the little alien!
Where's my gun??
Ground_stompers_wife: you must have very little knowledge of California ecology.
Opossums Didelphis virginiana are Southern California's No. 1 uninvited guest! Opossums are nocturnal animal, that was introduced in California in 1890, introduced in 1910 at San Jose, and since then has been very successful and can be found from Mexico to Canada and from coast to coast throughout North America and appear to be extending their range. They originally were found only in southeastern U.S., but in recent years their range has expanded west. Now occurs widely in western California along the entire coast and interior, west of Sierra Nevada/Cascade axis, with a few records in northeastern California They have prehensile tails which can be used to grab branches. The name 'opossum' is sometimes shortened to 'possum', which actually is the name for an Australian group of marsupials. These are distinct from opossums which are only found in North and South America. The Virginia opossum is probably best known for its last resort to escaping predators, "playing possum". As a last resort it can fake death to lose interest of its predator. In the United States, their main threat is getting killed by cars.
Preferred habitats include riparian, moist woodlands, brushy habitats, wetlands, and agricultural and residential areas that provide abundant food and cover. Less common in dense conifer forests and grasslands. Important predators include owls and dogs.
Opossums carry a variety of ectoparasites such as fleas, ticks, mites and lice that may also bite humans. Fleas are common on opossums, flea eggs and larva, are shed in areas frequented by opossums. Murine Typhus has been transmitted to humans by the fleas of opossums in Southern California. Other diseases opossums may carry include; tularemia, salmonella, toxoplasmosis, and coccidiosis. Infected animals may transmit Leptospirosis to humans and other animals through their urine and feces. Rabies is rare in opossums since they have some immunity to the virus. Pets, horses and other wildlife are also at risk for disease infection associated with opossums
Opossums are favorite game animals of the Southern states in the United States and are the subject of many folktales. The opossum is frequently hunted as a game species. A favorite Southern dish is “possum and taters”; the opossum is parboiled, then seasoned and roasted with sweet potatoe.
Hey keepitreal! Thanks! You're the first one who acknowledges the real "heroine" of my story!! I love her so... Thanks for your nice comments !! ;)
First- you're dog is darn cute!! What a sweetie. Your story was great too. Reminds me of a time I had raccoons on my porch and my dog (a pug) wanted to check them out. Possums are scarey looking ugly creatures. Remember once, my mom lived in the same building as me and i went out to my car one morning and there was a huge one under her car. I got rid of that thing. She would have had a heart attack if she had found that thing there.
Thanks for the story.
Well, to each his (or her) own...! Hey - at least I didn't SHOOT the disgusting creature!
Use the spell-checker, would you??!! Thanks for your comment!!
Honestly I dont see why it is so nasty....I know they carry disease but I think you should of done this at a different apporach. If your dog is such a good dog she should listen no matter what....grab her by her collar go inside and let the animal be. I dont see this story funny at all.It is actually sad...and for a wildlife biologist to even think of eatin a animal like that you should be ashmaed to call that your "profession"
you people are sick...its jus a helpless animal looking for food or shelter....and all you worry about is makin it dead. I am glad it got away. n maybe u need better training for your so called good dog
Hi knslms! Yes, we got quite a laugh out of it...after it was all over, of course. Thanks for your comment!!
atleast you got a good story out of it. lol
Hi Taylor! Thanks so much for your nice words! Hmmm...raccoons, deer, possums and rabbits...sounds like a Disney feature!! Good luck with those!
Great story. Great writing! You build such suspense and put the reader right there with you. I liv in the city of Philadelphia and we have problems with racoons, deers, possums and rabbits.
Depends on how close to Fairmount Park you live and to the possible number of strangers you can find in your backyard.
Keep sharing your wonderful writing.
Hi Shelby - thanks for stopping by! Yeah, that little sucker sure fooled me!
Thanks, donotfear! The whole sight was something to behold, that's for sure!!
Thanks for your comments!!
Oh, my! This was hilarious!!! I've dealt with many possums here in southwest Arkansas. They're everywhere. That's hysterical...I love it!
Great story!
Yeah, those little buggers are masters at playing dead. So lucky you are not to have gotten as far as picking it up.
Hi gr8archer45! Thanks for your comments - and I'm so glad you enjoyed!!
lolzz a very intereting story full of wit & "adventure" ;) I love it!!
Hi Tom - remember, this was at 11:00 at night! Didn't want to come knockin' on your door then...you'dda shot me!! Glad you got a good chuckle out of my fear!! :)
Hi 2patricias - I think I'd rather deal with the possums than foxes and attacking seagulls! Glad you enjoyed!
Good story. We don't get possums here in Sunny Sussex, but foxes sneak in at night. And we're plagued by seagulls (who sometimes attack cats and people!).
No man IN the house but I was right across the street you yoyo head!!!! Why didn't you come and get me since I am a wildlife biologist by professions for 30 years of my life with the federal government. OOO! Possum stew tonight! Breaded or unbreaded?
You had me laughing so hard this evening i am surprized that you did not hear me....for a very long, long time.
EXCELLETE MY DEAR NEIGHBOR. You should have had Sarah pick-it up or her beau!!!
EXCELLENT
Hi burgundy, larissa, jim, Sally and Elaine!
Thanks, everyone for your comments!!
It took me a little while to finally figure out that the little creature was "playing" possum - just like the saying goes. I just couldn't believe he was playing possum for such a long time!! The whole adventure was about 20 minutes.
We still get the possums in my yard, but I think it's the same little guy that had me fooled. But, I learned my lesson. Now when I hear Jaysee acting the same way, I just bring her inside!
Glad you all thought it was funny - Sarah and I had a good laugh after it was all over too!
LOL this was really great..I have a few of those creepy crawlers that come by my house, :) I just shoo them away... to my neighbors house lol :)
What a great read!
I, too, have been scared to death by "stranger" visits in the middle of the night. Although I didn't have a dog at the time, I did have a compost pile outside the bedroom window that started to make a lot of noise a few nights in a row.
Hubbie (man in the house) one night set up camp downstairs, armed with a baseball bat and a flashlight. Needless to say, he caught the bugger red-handed stuffing its face with discarded lettuce leaves and carrot shavings from our previous night's dinner.
What did the 'possum do in the beam of the flashlight? Drop dead, of course.
At that point my husband had the good sense to go to bed and call Animal Control in the morning. They came out, set a trap, caught the critter the next night, and relocated it to some woods somewhere. We found out later she was carrying a baby in her pouch.
There are two things I must say about 'possums (I can say them now, although I couldn't then). One, I think they are cute, especially the babies (I have a good friend who is a certified wild life rescue expert, and she and her team nurse hundreds of abandoned 'possum babies each spring). Two, it is extremely unlikely (although not totally impossible) that a 'possum will carry rabies. In the rescue business they like to say that you are more likely to catch rabies from your child biting you.
Pam, I was with you all the way. If Hubby hadn't been around at the time, I think I would have been doing the screaming dance, too.
Great story, I knew he had to be alive. After all he is the best at "playing possum". I'm surprised he even fooled your dog. Well I'm glad everyone turned out fine except for a little lack of sleep.
ugly creatures great stories
LOL! What a great story! I would be the same way, I hate wild creatures and can't deal with dead wild creatures, so you did better than I would. I keep telling my husband that's the only reason I keep him around - to deal with situation such as that.
This is where the term "playing possum comes from". When they are threatened, they pretend to die until the threat goes away and it can escape.
Hi Zsu and Shawna! Glad you enjoyed...
This was really funny!
Great story! We get those ugly sucker up here in Canada too. I had a similar experience last year when I went to feed the barn cats... low and behold there was the back end of uggiest cat I've ever seen facing me. I tought for a second... darn someone else dropped off their unwanted cat. (no surprise there, it was ugly enough) It turned to stare at me, I let out a screech loud enough to have my Son come running from the house. In a minute we had it cornered... now what, I asked? The poor thing just died of fright right there on the spot... poor ugly brute... I guess I better dig a deep hole, far enough so the dogs won't go and try to dig it up. Lucky it had been rainy for the past few days, the hole was not too-too hard... covered in mud, ready to dispose of rat-zilla? Where did it go?
Great hub regards Zsuzsy
maggynan 11 months ago
In the last two weeks, two (count 'em; t-w-o) opposums and one angry raccoon have been trapped in my backyard. This is happening in beautiful, not-quite-downtown Eugene, Oregon, where the streets teem with deer, raccoons, etc., at night. I release the terrified (and slightly dumb) ground squirrels.
The trapping service man is authorized by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to euthanize the opossums because they are a non-native invasive species. Also, at this time of year, he euthanizes the raccoons as well because they are carrying canine distemper. He says that in all likelihood, the possums had already had babies and this problem will continue. Maybe I should have just ignored them.
Maggynan, Eugene