Close Encounter

So, this morning we set off on our walk right about sunrise, as usual. Two doors up there was a possum in the neighbor's driveway. Lucy sprinted right at him and he did not move. Stood his ground. She got right up to him and there was a face off where neither moved, practically nose to nose, while I called her (a bit hysterically.) Sophie wanted nothing to do with him, of course. So, I looked up opossums and it seems that it is rare for them to have rabies and they hardly ever go on the attack. So, I guess he was just a rather bold and fearless critter. I did see one item of interest. Apparently, the only animals at risk from the opossum are birds, horses and sea otters. No, really. If they ingest opossum feces, they are at high risk of contracting a deadly disease. I swear I am not making this up. And, this is cute: The males are called Jacks, the females are called Jills and the babies are called Joeys. They are related to kangaroos. Ok, natural history lesson over. There will be a quiz.
Oh, so both the dogs were on their leashes for the rest of the walk. The possum watched us go.