Furry Friday – Blossom Possum

Next week, it will be six years since our giddy, goofy Beagle girl, Blossom Possum, took her final breath.  October 17, 2017, was her last day on earth, but she lives forever in the hearts of those who knew her.

We brought her home on February 11, 2011.  I naively thought I was just going to foster her for the animal rescue, but she never left our home.  She was a trooper over the years, enduring ACL repair on both back legs at the same time, tumor removal surgery, and repeated tests on her enlarged liver until we figured out that she had Cushing Disease.  Despite her physical ailments, she greeted every day with the same goofy, gap-toothed grin. 

She was originally dumped at the shelter by a breeder when they believed she was pregnant again.  She had already had many litters of puppies, but there was concern that this litter would be life-threatening for her, and the breeder didn’t want the medical bills.  It turned out that she was not carrying any puppies, and her false pregnancy saved her life.

After Blossom Possum came to live with us, our Beagle Annabelle Lee became enamored with her, so we had to keep her.  We basically got a dog for our dog.

During walks in the wooded areas near our home, both Beagles were very vocal when they saw a rabbit, but Blossom Possum had a baying howl that could be heard echoing through the entire neighborhood.  She also could sniff the rabbit’s trail and know exactly which way it went.  It quickly became obvious that she was an experienced hunting dog. 

Despite her hunting acumen, she became very fond of dog beds and soft couches, and she would reliably roll over to show her belly to anyone walking past to beg for a belly rub.  Whoever walked past her spot on the chair in the living room had to pay the belly rub tax, otherwise she would whimper for attention, making her monkey-noise until she was petted.

She learned to sit up and beg for a treat and would spontaneously pop up like a meerkat to beg whenever she saw someone with food.  This led to her long-form nickname, the “Meerkat Mongoose Monkey-faced Possum, named Blossom.”

Blossom Possum went from being an under-fed and over-bred hunting dog to being a pampered pet who loved nothing more than getting a belly rub while being fed a snack of rare roast beef.  She lived the last half of her life in love and luxury.

In Blossom’s memory, I ask you to adopt your next pet from a shelter or animal rescue. It is so rewarding to watch them blossom from fear to love.