Jennifer M.

I have always had a love for opossums because they are such a highly misunderstood creature. They are very beneficial in an urban environment. One day when my dogs found an orphaned baby in my backyard. Being a nurse by trade I quickly assessed her for any injuries and knew she was too young to be out on her own. She surely would have fallen prey to the hawks and other predators in my area. I went online to try and find groups for taking care of opossums. My goal was to make sure this baby was healthy and had the best chance to return back to the wild. I connected with a rehabber from Texas who called me and walked me through the most important things I needed to do right away for this baby. First off she was completely full of fleas and her color was very pale. I was told she was extremely anemic from all the fleas. I gently gave her a bath with blue Dawn dish soap and then hand picked any remaining fleas off her. I quickly warmed her up and started working on getting her hydrated. I never knew how complex the care was for these special creatures till I reached out to a professional. I was determined to do whatever it took to keep this baby healthy. Watching her grow up I wanted to be able to do more and help spread awareness of all the misconceptions there are about opossums. During her time with me I would talk to anyone and everyone about her. I would show pictures of her and just hearing someone say I have changed their view of opossums completely warmed my heart and made me feel like I’m truly accomplishing something, even if it is one person at a time. My love for opossums grew even stronger especially since there is so little care for them where I live.