Author Topic: How'd you know if an opossum was rabid? (Read 8311 times)

GigaBuist · « **on:** January 03, 2009, 01:26:17 AM »

Working from home the other day I saw an opossum in the back yard digging around. Right where the dog gets to run about on his line. I thought I'd do a little experiment and see how the dog treated random wild animals. Ya see, he's likely got some of that Evil Demon Pit Bull in him, which is supposed to make him want to kill anything that moves according to the media. From experience I know he's good with cats, infants, toddlers, small children, and adults, but thought there might be a chance he'd go wonky on the thing and kill it.

If he's got an aggression I'd like to know about it well in advance.

So, I let him out after making sure he spotted the critter through the window. He ran straight at it, sniffed it, it fell down playing dead, he sniffed it again, wandered 10 feet away, took a dump, and walked back to the door. That's about what I expected of him.

In hindsight I remembered that opossum are nocturnal and they shouldn't be out during the day. I feel like a real idiot putting my dog into that situation now.

Is just being out during the day enough reason to assume an opossum is rabid and put it down? If I march out into the yard and the thing goes into "play dead" mode should I assume it's OK and just let it be?

Azrael256 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 03, 2009, 01:32:00 AM »

If it were a raccoon, its existence would indicate rabies. For a possum, no. They're immune.

Well, not immune immune, but you should buy lottery tickets if you find a rabid one, 'cause probability is on your side that day. You pretty much have to be a mad scientist with a big syringe of distilled hydrophobia serum to infect a possum. Or Irwin. He spreads rabies just walking around.

Doesn't the dog get his yearly shot anyway?

K Frame · « **Reply #2 on:** January 03, 2009, 08:23:31 AM »

Your dog is vaccinated, correct?

And yes, rabies in possums is very rare, but not unknown.

MechAg94 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 03, 2009, 09:32:27 AM »

I would think the fact that is played dead would tell you that it didn't have rabies, or at least wasn't suffering from it.

I remember some years ago seeing a possum who had wandered in front of the door of a bowling alley which was a couple miles outside of town. A friend and I walked up on it and it just sat there at the door hissing at us and acting all aggressive. Before we could do anything, another guy walked out the door, saw it, and immediately stomped on it which is boots and killed it. All the while his girlfriend is in distress that he killed a cute animal. Anyway, that is the only time I have seen a possum act like that and I figured it had rabies or something else wrong with it or it wouldn't have walked up into the brightly lit entry way of the bowling alley.

thumbody · « **Reply #4 on:** January 03, 2009, 09:34:54 AM »

The only way to check for rabies is to send the carcass in for testing.
They need to test the brain so if you must destroy a suspected animal do not shoot it in the head!

lee n. field · « **Reply #5 on:** January 03, 2009, 09:48:53 AM »

Quote

All the while his girlfriend is in distress that he killed a cute animal.

"Cute animal" -- are sure it was a possum? They're about the ugliest thing out there.

Bigjake · « **Reply #6 on:** January 03, 2009, 10:29:04 AM »

Like the others said, Kinda rare in possums.

In coons, if you seen one stumbling around looking dazed during daylight hours, that hisses and stands it's ground when you approach it, it's probably rabid.

GigaBuist · « **Reply #7 on:** January 03, 2009, 10:02:47 PM »

Quote from: Mike Irwin on January 03, 2009, 08:23:31 AM

Your dog is vaccinated, correct?

And yes, rabies in possums is very rare, but not unknown.

Yeah, dog is up to date on his vaccination shots.

Guess I won't worry about random opossum in the back yard from here on out. Thanks guys.

BlueStarLizzard · « **Reply #8 on:** January 03, 2009, 10:10:06 PM »

i wouldn't worry about it too much.

i let sadie go after one in my moms front yard. she ran and hit it full force, throwing it a couple yards through the air. it, predictably, played dead. she sniffed for awhile, then wandered off to do sadie things. i put her back in the house and then sat on the picnic table to see how long it would stay "dead". it took a good five minutes. those suckers are really good at it too. this one even had its tounge half hanging out like you see on really dead animals.

funny enough, i'm pretty sure that possem is still living in the area around the house. pearl used to go nuts when we lived there for awhile and he'd be snuffling around the backyard.

for the record. possems are cute in an ugly sort of way. kind of "its so ugly, its cute"

seeker_two · « **Reply #9 on:** January 03, 2009, 10:15:19 PM »

If it's in walking distance & I can see it, it's rabid....and a designated target....

Quote from: MechAg94 on January 03, 2009, 09:32:27 AM

All the while his girlfriend is in distress that he killed a cute animal.

I'd worry about her definition of "cuteness"....esp. if she was dating at the time....

Boomhauer · « **Reply #10 on:** January 03, 2009, 10:33:38 PM »

My father had a german shepard mix that would play with possums. He'd go find one, carry it back to the yard in his mouth while it was playing dead, drop it in the yard, and watch it. When it woke up, he'd pick it up and throw it in the air. Possum would play dead again, and the process would repeat.

Oh, and rabies or no rabies, if a possum fights back, it can hurt a dog pretty badly...

BlueStarLizzard · « **Reply #11 on:** January 03, 2009, 10:41:05 PM »

this thread reminds me of the one and only 'possem hound' Northwest. when i was a kid and we first moved in with dad, we had problems with possems attepting to take up residence under the house. Northwest took issue with the interlopers and would flush them out and chase them up a tree. dad would pull out the 'possem gun' (a charter arms AR-7) and shoot them. when they fell out of the tree, Northwest would be all cocky and walk up, sniff 'em and then lift his leg and pee on the possem like he was saying "now, what, you punk!"

Tallpine · « **Reply #12 on:** January 04, 2009, 11:24:13 AM »

If the "Possum" starts moaning about old lost loves, then you have a problem

roo_ster · « **Reply #13 on:** January 04, 2009, 12:58:20 PM »

Quote from: bluestarlizzard on January 03, 2009, 10:41:05 PM

this thread reminds me of the one and only 'possem hound'...

:)

My BIL inadvertently trained up a "skunk dog," Junior, who would tear after a skunk, forsaking all rational quarry.

Junior was not impaired by getting sprayed, it just made him hate skunks even more.

If you weren't a skunk, Junior was a sweet dog, though was always a little skunky smelling, even after numerous baths an weeks since his last cose encounter with skunk kind.

Bogie · « **Reply #14 on:** January 04, 2009, 10:55:46 PM »

Who cares if a possum is rabid or not.

You shot it, right?

It's dead, right?

Right?

Harold Tuttle · « **Reply #15 on:** January 04, 2009, 10:59:13 PM »

slzy · « **Reply #16 on:** January 05, 2009, 11:50:49 AM »

i "figure" rabies are rare in possums for the same reason it is rare in rats amd nice;whatever bit them probably also killed them out right.

all the bats i found in the basement had all the symptoms of rabies,according to rabies sites,found in place you would not expect,like a basement room,in broad daylight[check],that could'nt fly[check again].

took all of them to cdc,they all died from distemper.

to check for rabies,they remove the brains,put it in a blender with some medium,wait a while,and look at it through a black light.[this may not be entirely accurate,but close]. if you have been bitten,you have to take the cure,because rabies will have developed before the test come back.

if i was bob barker,i would emphasize that unvaccinated feral offspring getting and spreading rabies is the strongest motivator to have your pet speyed or neutered.

cassandra and sara's daddy · « **Reply #17 on:** January 05, 2009, 12:14:08 PM »

i know they make lil fish cake baits that contain a rabies vaccine. they air dropped em in alexandria some years back to slow a rabies outbreak if anyone can find out where to get some of those baits please post it

El Tejon · « **Reply #18 on:** January 05, 2009, 12:27:59 PM »

I usually send out a subpoena duces tecum for the possum's medical file.

If I get a bunch of HIPPA flak, I do a deposition and ask the possum under oath if it is rabid.

Last time I sat a possum down, it bit the deputy prosecutor and then ran into a vent in the conference room. Most excitement I've had in months.

mtnbkr · « **Reply #19 on:** January 05, 2009, 12:30:57 PM »

Quote from: El Tejon on January 05, 2009, 12:27:59 PM

Last time I sat a possum down, it bit the deputy prosecutor...

Did the possum die?

Chris

seeker_two · « **Reply #20 on:** January 05, 2009, 01:08:29 PM »

Quote from: mtnbkr on January 05, 2009, 12:30:57 PM

Did the possum die?

Chris

...or did it just need rabies shots afterward?....

crt360 · « **Reply #21 on:** January 06, 2009, 09:34:13 PM »

Quote from: slzy on January 05, 2009, 11:50:49 AM

i "figure" rabies are rare in possums for the same reason it is rare in rats amd nice;whatever bit them probably also killed them out right.

I caught a possum a few weeks ago that was freakin' huge. I've caught some big ones, but this one had a head about six inches wide and was eagerly chewing through the wire. I have a feeling it won a few fights.

Balog · « **Reply #22 on:** January 06, 2009, 09:40:15 PM »

Quote from: lee n. field on January 03, 2009, 09:48:53 AM

"Cute animal" -- are sure it was a possum? They're about the ugliest thing out there.

Take it back meany!

Harold Tuttle · « **Reply #23 on:** January 07, 2009, 12:23:27 AM »

love this meme:

Viking · « **Reply #24 on:** January 07, 2009, 03:35:40 AM »

Quote from: Harold Tuttle on January 07, 2009, 12:23:27 AM

love this meme:

Another classic

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Author Topic: How'd you know if an opossum was rabid? (Read 8311 times)