Ode to the Possum

David's Doll was blogging about the weirdest pet you've ever owned, and it reminded me of my pet possum. When I was a kid, we had indoor/outdoor cats. They pretty much did their own thing. We would feed them wet food outside, and one evening there was a long, skinny, pink tail that did not belong with the rest. It was a possum. She was pregnant and hungry, and she loved the wet cat food. My mom didn't think much of it. Eventually, we realized that the possum wasn't going to leave, so my mom started treating it like our pet. She fed her, and we would all go outside and talk to her. You couldn't touch her or anything, but she would sit and watch you. When my mom would sweep the back porch, the possum would get on the broom and ride along. It was very funny. One day, my mom found the possum at the back door. She had been hit by a car, and she was bloody. My mother was mortified because the possum had already had her babies. The babies were in the road where the mother had been hit. My mom tried to get the possum to the vet, but it was too late. This was the day that I realized what an animal lover my mother was. Who takes a possum hit by a car to the vet? My mother.