Finding a small animal latching on to your beloved pet’s back might seem like a scary scenario at first glance, but sometimes it can be a rather wholesome moment. As in the case of Sally Watkinson who discovered a baby Australian ringtail possum clinging for dear life to her puli dog’s back.
The woman shared this incident on her Facebook page by posting a set of pictures showing the cutest little possum hitching a ride on her dog Kato’s back. She also shared some details about the whole thing, including the fact that it happened twice!
First, Sally found a tiny female possum sitting on one of her pets’ back. Luckily, neither of her dogs seemed to notice or mind the little marsupial. Her partner Jon spent the afternoon looking for wildlife rescue organizations to help and the dogs were eventually taken to the vet whereas the possum was taken to be later transported to the care of wildlife rescue.
More info: Facebook
An Australian woman made an unexpected discovery when she noticed a small animal clinging to her dog’s back
And then, only a day later, Sally shared an update that it happened again. This time, the Australian woman found a baby boy clinging to her dog’s fur. “This one was annoying him a bit more as it seemed to be digging in a bit, Hugo [her other dog] was still ignoring it,” Watkinson shared in a Facebook post.
“This time, the vet nurse nearly fell off her chair when we turned up,” Sally detailed their second trip to the vet’s, with yet another baby possum. This one was a boy possum and as the woman reported, he “should also be ok”.
In the comments under her original post, Watkinson also shared some additional information about the situation. The babies are well taken care of by a wildlife carer and will be released back into the wild when they’re ready. The couple speculates that the poor possums were orphaned because a possum catcher took their mother. “Possum man has not returned calls regarding what happened to the mother, therefore, no opportunity to reunite and release,” the woman shared the disheartening news. She also reported that they’ve consulted with the vet who informed them that such possums as the ones found usually have a litter of 2-3, so they are keeping an eye out in case there’s a third one somewhere.
Bored Panda has reached to Watkinson for additional information. We sure are glad that the tiny possums decided to cling to their canine rescuer who, thankfully, didn’t mind the little marsupials hitching a free ride on his back.
Here’s how people on Facebook reacted to the story
767Kviews
Share on FacebookCute story...but they said that this happened in Australia. So does this possum spit acid or some other freaky thing? Cause after the 8 foot spider & fire starting hawks stories I find it hard to believe there just cute little harmless possums in Australia
Lol they are cute and harmless, but have invaded next door new Zealand so here (nz) they are considered a pest
Load More Replies...OK. Totally happy to admit I'm ignorant. Maybe some weird breed, but 'ain't never seen a dog with dreadlocks. More concerned about the dogs welfare than the damn possum. Am I missing something? Please educate me.
multiple breeds of dogs have hair that grows like this naturally (Puli and Komondor are two of the more popular ones). It makes them waterproof and these breeds are all herding dogs that would be out in the fields.
Load More Replies...A touching, heart warming story. Ring-tailed possums are absolutely adorable little creatures - they're smaller than the more common brush-tailed possum. Grew up in a house with a family of the little guys living in the roof and we'd hear them running around at night. They didn't cause any trouble except that their scent was very noticeable when you opened the little door to the roof space. Although very cute they can be extremely aggressive when defending their territory from other possums and sometimes make terrifying noises. Lived on the edge of a national park for a while - there was a very friendly little possum who resided in the attic and would enter the house and just hang out. I used to bring home watermelon and all kinds of fruit just for him. It's a shame we can't have them as companion animals, but even when they're wild they are naturally inquisitive, a delight to spend time with and a lot more intelligent then most people assume.
I love how it was the exact same dog too who keeps ending up with these little creatures on him.
This being the ONE time that North American and Australian animals are switched. You got the cute one and we have rabid hell beast looking possums.
Holy hell that little booger is adorable! Must not be one from the States, ours aren't as cute.
We will probably never know. :(. They suspect a human killed the mother. :(
Load More Replies...I have witnessed a possum hanging on a Blue Healer Canine. It was hanging on under her neck. We Live In Wiggins, MS. Nature is such an amazing thing.
Aussie opossums are sooo much cuter than North and South American opossums!
Here we just call them possums :) And yes they're adorable!
Load More Replies...It's natural for that breed (Puli), they just grow that way.
Load More Replies...I'm curious if anybody investigated to figure out where they were coming from. There may have been more or an injured mother that could use assistance.
Yup, she mentions in the text that they are looking for a potential 3rd baby, and they think that the mama was captured by humans.
Load More Replies...another poor possum hanging on to a cat! https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ringtail-possum-thinks-australian-cat-153538457.html
The technical word is corded, rather than dreadlocks. There's are 5 breeds known for this. Havanese. Bergamasco. Komondor. Puli. Poodle. And I've also seen Tibetan Terriers with cords.
Well! I JUST saw this, (2 days later) and I'm thrilled for the outcome!! SO thankful for the wonderful, kind people who made this odd circumstance into an amazing happy ending!
I have no knowledge of possums, they are cute, but it seems over population in some areas is a problem, after catching them what do they do with them, euthanize ???
They are protected in Australia. We have possum boxes at my work. The possum is cared for and then released back into the wild.
Load More Replies...Maybe we should all stop passing judgment on internet strangers based on small snippets of stories. You know nothing about this woman's relationship with her dogs, how much attention she pays to them etc..
Load More Replies...Cute story...but they said that this happened in Australia. So does this possum spit acid or some other freaky thing? Cause after the 8 foot spider & fire starting hawks stories I find it hard to believe there just cute little harmless possums in Australia
Lol they are cute and harmless, but have invaded next door new Zealand so here (nz) they are considered a pest
Load More Replies...OK. Totally happy to admit I'm ignorant. Maybe some weird breed, but 'ain't never seen a dog with dreadlocks. More concerned about the dogs welfare than the damn possum. Am I missing something? Please educate me.
multiple breeds of dogs have hair that grows like this naturally (Puli and Komondor are two of the more popular ones). It makes them waterproof and these breeds are all herding dogs that would be out in the fields.
Load More Replies...A touching, heart warming story. Ring-tailed possums are absolutely adorable little creatures - they're smaller than the more common brush-tailed possum. Grew up in a house with a family of the little guys living in the roof and we'd hear them running around at night. They didn't cause any trouble except that their scent was very noticeable when you opened the little door to the roof space. Although very cute they can be extremely aggressive when defending their territory from other possums and sometimes make terrifying noises. Lived on the edge of a national park for a while - there was a very friendly little possum who resided in the attic and would enter the house and just hang out. I used to bring home watermelon and all kinds of fruit just for him. It's a shame we can't have them as companion animals, but even when they're wild they are naturally inquisitive, a delight to spend time with and a lot more intelligent then most people assume.
I love how it was the exact same dog too who keeps ending up with these little creatures on him.
This being the ONE time that North American and Australian animals are switched. You got the cute one and we have rabid hell beast looking possums.
Holy hell that little booger is adorable! Must not be one from the States, ours aren't as cute.
We will probably never know. :(. They suspect a human killed the mother. :(
Load More Replies...I have witnessed a possum hanging on a Blue Healer Canine. It was hanging on under her neck. We Live In Wiggins, MS. Nature is such an amazing thing.
Aussie opossums are sooo much cuter than North and South American opossums!
Here we just call them possums :) And yes they're adorable!
Load More Replies...It's natural for that breed (Puli), they just grow that way.
Load More Replies...I'm curious if anybody investigated to figure out where they were coming from. There may have been more or an injured mother that could use assistance.
Yup, she mentions in the text that they are looking for a potential 3rd baby, and they think that the mama was captured by humans.
Load More Replies...another poor possum hanging on to a cat! https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ringtail-possum-thinks-australian-cat-153538457.html
The technical word is corded, rather than dreadlocks. There's are 5 breeds known for this. Havanese. Bergamasco. Komondor. Puli. Poodle. And I've also seen Tibetan Terriers with cords.
Well! I JUST saw this, (2 days later) and I'm thrilled for the outcome!! SO thankful for the wonderful, kind people who made this odd circumstance into an amazing happy ending!
I have no knowledge of possums, they are cute, but it seems over population in some areas is a problem, after catching them what do they do with them, euthanize ???
They are protected in Australia. We have possum boxes at my work. The possum is cared for and then released back into the wild.
Load More Replies...Maybe we should all stop passing judgment on internet strangers based on small snippets of stories. You know nothing about this woman's relationship with her dogs, how much attention she pays to them etc..
Load More Replies...
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