I am constantly amazed by life and the experiences that open up to folks. We had our encounter with Tina the opossum, and not only enjoyed it, but learned a lot. By the way, the report to us is that as of Tuesday, she is doing very well. 

Feeling good about what we had done with her, we started a new week, but I guess we still had lessons to learn. I got a call about 8:00 from Saskia at work. She told me that she had another opossum. Seems someone coming into the building found an injured baby that had managed to get into the entry alcove. She said he did not look good and we agreed that when I finish what I was doing I would call and see if I needed to pick him up. When I called she checked and said he was still breathing and I should come and get him.

I took him back to the animal clinic but the vet on duty that day did not work with marsupials. The assistant, however, knows a lot about them and gave me some pointers. She did say that he did not look like there was much hope for him. I took him home knowing we would do our best but thinking the most we could do would be to keep him safe and comfort him as he passed.

I got another box and made a bed with towels and cloth for him to burrow. With a cotton swab, I cleaned his (yes this one is a boy we call Joey), wounds and applied some Neosporin ointment. I took a pâté cat food and mixed in a little water and fed him with a feeding syringe. He did not want to eat but I managed to get some down him. I let him rest in the box on the heating pad. 

When Saskia got home I went to the store for some Pedialyte and applesauce. When I got home we cleaned the wounds again and I put a little hydrogen peroxide to fight any infection. We later learned that it was best not to use the peroxide so we discontinued that part of the cleaning. We fed him some Pedialyte, cat food and applesauce and put him to bed. We did not expect him to make it through the night. He was listless and did not seem to have much strength. We fed him a little of the Pedialyte during the night. We were happy to find him still alive in the morning.

The first thing we did on getting up was to feed him again. He loves the applesauce but only gets it after eating the other food. After Saskia went to work, I made a little bath to try to better clean his wound. I put more Neosporin and then it was back to the box. This pattern continued (except for the bath) throughout the day and that night. To our amazement, he seemed to be getting better. We spoke with the woman who is the rehabilitator and made a plan for his care and release.

Wednesday morning I took him to Dr. Robbie. She cleaned the wound and cut away the matted hair. I got the necessary medications and instructions for his care. She said she believed he would recover and be able to be released. After she cleaned the wound it did not look so bad.

He started eating better and in addition to using the feeder syringe, we are putting a little food in the box to see if he starts feeding himself. For exercise, we let him loose on the bathroom floor. This is a good spot as there is room for him to move around and no place to get into. He cautiously checked it out and was soon scampering around like he owned the place.

 

Some people don’t understand why it is important to us to try to save these little guys and I’m not sure I can really explain it. We see so many small animals on or alongside the road, who did not make it. I understand and am in acceptance that life is temporary for all, but what pains me is the violent manner in which their life ends. We are happy that we are able to help these two animals have a chance for a more full life. As for us, I believe it helps to define our humanity by having compassion for beings injured or weaker. It just feels right.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. – Aesop