It all started with an opossum. She was large and white, with a long snout. I only saw her because Lyla, my eleven year old dog, decided at 1 AM that she needed to go out. These late night outings seem to come with age, even for dogs. I let her out and laid back down, waiting for her bark at the door. We know the routine.
But when I heard the bark, it wasn’t coming from the door. And it wasn’t her “Let me in” bark. It was an anxious bark that turned into an incessant bark. I slid on some shoes and headed into the yard, following the bark. Before I got there, I could hear the scuffle – something was going on. Back inside. Flashlight. Wake up Jim. “Help!”
Flashlight in hand I could see her. Large and white, with teeth showing. Of course, so were Lyla’s. The fight was in full force. The truth is that it wasn’t much of a fight – an old dog and a terrified opossum. Mostly it was posturing and snarling and barking with the occasional open-pawed slap.
How do you break up a fight between a dog and an opossum?
Moreover, how do you break it up when they are standing in the middle of a bed of poison ivy? Back inside. Long pants, better shoes. Another flashlight. A broom. A leash.
What on earth am I doing standing in the middle of a bed of poison ivy trying to break up a fight?
Eventually I coaxed Lyla away from the opossum. Once her leash was on she collapsed in exhaustion. We got her inside and she went straight to bed.
I’ve been in poison ivy. I really should take a shower. It’s 2 AM.
I washed my arms and legs with Tecnu – wonderful stuff! – and went to bed.
That was Tuesday morning. Today, Thursday, I woke up with one eye swollen shut. The other was itchy – the kind of itchy that is so hard not to touch. Poison ivy. I didn’t wash my face after the fight. I didn’t wash my face.
So what started with an opossum ended with high dose Prednisone. I can see out of both eyes again. By the way, Lyla and the opossum are both fine.
So what’s the moral of the story? Don’t let your dog out at night? Don’t let poison ivy grow in your back yard? Take a shower even when it is 2 AM?
It wasn’t the opossum’s fault. But why didn't she play dead like she was supposed to?
