Re: [CH] (CH) I'VE BEEN ATTACKED

Matt Prerost (mprerost@mindspring.com)
Thu, 31 May 2001 23:11:32 -0500 

On Thu, 31 May 2001 11:03:55 -0500, you wrote:

>I won't get into the whole story, 'cause it's quite long.  But, pepper
>sprays may not work.  They don't on 'possums.  I live inside the
>Indianapolis city limits, so it's illegal to use the 12 gauge approach I
>grew up with for 'possums and other annoying mean nasty ugly rodents.  But,
>my neighbor and I had a major possum problem.  This thing actually attacked
>people.  No, it didn't play dead.  it would jump on the hood of my car, and
>hiss at me, barring its teeth when I'd go out the door to go to work in the
>morning.
>
>My neighbor cought it under a trash can one sunday morning, and we tried
>calling animal control, but they wouldn't do anything unless it bit
>someone.  Considering how aggressive the thing was, the fact that it was
>frequently out and about in the day time, and that it advanced and acted
>like it would bite you rather than playing possum, we thought there was a
>likely chance it had something we didn't want to get should we be bit.  We
>got one of my friends who's a Butler campus police officer to come over.
>He maced it.  That didn't bother it.  He pepper sprayed it.  That didn't
>bother it.  He wacked it upside the head with one of those riot battons
>that expand outward and have a big lead ball on the end, and that just
>seemed to make it mad.  Eventually it just sauntered away.
>
>in the end, I cought it in a live trap with a raw, rotten egg, then let it
>go in a nearby wildlife refuge type area (nearby being well over 40 miles
>away).

Man that sounds like one baaaaad possum.  I almost got attacked by one
but my dog jumped it.  Of course I was out there because my dog woke
me up barking, but anyway.  I decide to let my dog stay inside the
house after a few possum incidents.  He killed at least one a year for
around 3 years straight.  He was also killing birds that would get
trapped in our screened in porch.  Also he would throw balls at our
sliding glass window and just have a overall pitiful look on his face.
Also I don't have to worry about him digging up my garden now with him
inside.

Now if I could get him to stop attacking bees.

Matt