Around 10PM my wife let our dog, a large German Shepherd, out into the back yard to give her a chance to take care of her bathroom needs for the night. Shortly after she noticed that the dog was wresting with something in the grass. She initially thought that it was large bone but called me to come out and investigate. It was dark already so with a flashlight I found the source of my dog's excitement. It was a small opossum. It was laying on the ground not really moving. When I came up closer and shined some light on it, it raised its head and hissed at me. Even though I could see a little bit of blood on its side, I thought that perhaps it was just in a bit of shock and trying to play dead.
My wife wanted me to kill it but I really wasn't equipped to do that, besides I honestly thought that the little bugger would lick his wounds and eventually scurry away.
I guess that wasn't to be. I went out first thing in the morning to check on it and even though at first things were looking promising, I found him laying dead several yards from where I left him the night before.
I know it's just a large rodent but I feel terrible that I let it suffer through the night. I'll have to purchase a pellet gun so that if something like this were to happen again, I will at least have the means to provide a quick end.
