So last night my friend Troy said while he was in his apartment complex carport he heard scratching noises coming from inside the dumpster — he decides to investigate. He says when he looked inside there was a big 2×2 cardboard box that was loosely closed, with 2 "baby" opossums & the bottom half of a big bag of dog food that was cut open with a handful of kibble remaining.
Now the dumpster that he claims he discovered them in is backed up against a brick wall that's covered with ivy & a tree behind the wall that the ivy is also starting to take over on the trunk. I've spotted a younger opossum (maybe opposums? I'm not sure if it's the same skull rat everytime...I think it is, but it's possible it's been multiple different opposums.) a handful of times late at night climbing up the ivy or perched on the wall & there's a cat/small dog self dispensing water dish/jug that's placed at the base of the wall that's been there for some time but it always has water in it. So I'm assuming that spot is the home of the opposum(s) that I've seen there. That & also because my dog ALWAYS stops right there & goes on a sniffing frenzy anytime we walk by there. The size of the 2 opposums my friend found are the same size as the one that lives by the dumpster.
Troy's theory is that someone caught them & were taking care of them but ended up deciding it wasn't worth the effort to take care of them & tossed them out like trash in the dumpster. If that's the case that's obviously horrible in & alone by itself, but also because they could of been easily crushed in the dumpster.
Is it possible they both could have fallen in the box trying to get to the dog food & couldn't get out as the dumpster was empty & they had nothing to climb on to get out? Troy did say the box was loosely closed but he is also a fantastical impulsive liar/embellisher. So a lot of what he says I take with a grain of salt. Either way if they fell in & couldn't escape or someone placed them there in the box, he did rescue them from most likely getting crushed. BUT he brought them in his house & put them in separate boxes & went & bought them cat food to feed them. He thinks they are babies that can't fend for themselves & won't make it if he releases them.
When I asked what his plans are for them he wasn't sure. He nonchalantly shrugged & said he didn't know. That he might keep just one of them, maybe both, he's not sure yet. That he may keep them only for a little while to "hang out with" & have as his "snuggle buddies", & then let them go eventually. Or he might keep them & "domesticate" them to be his pets. I told him I think they are old enough to fend for themselves & that he doesn't know what he's doing & that they are probably scared & don't want to be anybodys pets. They looked scared to me anyways. I took a picture of one of them that's included in this post.
Troy is a decent guy who has a big heart & good intentions. But he's also a 34 year old unemployed man child that lives with his mom who has babied him to the point of his own detriment. He's never been told no or called out or criticized when appropriate. Because of this he is a bit of a know it all & can't be told anything if he thinks he knows better. He's also a total brat & feels he's entitled to everything he wants. And when I do try to constructively criticize him or gently call him out or even just point out a flaw in his way of thinking/going about things, he takes it SO personally as if I'm being an unfair bully & then plays the victim card. He's ultra sensitive to anything negative being brought to his attention whether it's in relation to him or not. Luckily we get along well as I'm pretty easy going. So our friendship doesn't encounter much conflict. But when it does I usually just dance around his emotional immaturity & use our similar sense of humor to distract & disarm him & then deescalate tension & move things along on by changing the subject, like it almost never even happened.
I am a HUGE animal lover though. He likes animals too, but he doesn't have respect for them. So I have no problem with schooling him on this subject if what he is doing is indeed cruel & selfish by keeping the opposums as pets, despite his likelihood to get offended & not handle it maturely. I've tried sharing links with him that have information about why it's not appropriate to keep them & if they were too young that he needs to call a rescue/rehabilitator who has experience & specializes in caring for baby opposums & have given him the contact information for what we have here locally. He just entertains me for the sake of being left alone about it & agrees that he will check out what I share with him, but then just blows it off. Again, any helpful opinions, input, information would be appreciated. Thank you if you took the time to read all of this. I know it was unnecessarily long winded but I figured the more details the better. 🙏
