Meet Opie – he’s a bit of an unusual pet but his owners love him.
Opie is an opossum – a marsupial, similar to possums – that’s house-trained and loves crawling around on his owner’s shoulders and playing with cats.
Kyle Fahye, 29, and his wife, from Arkansas, found Opie as an orphaned baby outside about eight months ago and have been raising him ever since.
The adorable marsupial now wears a little collar and can even use a litter tray.
He also occasionally explores his owner’s place of work by rolling around in a little hamster ball.
Having lived domestically for so long, Opie is not suitable to live in the wild, says Kyle.
And this lifestyle seems to suit Opie just fine.
‘Opie’s mama was killed by a neighbor’s dog,’ said Kyle, who runs a tattoo parlor called Studio 45.
‘We [took Opie in] since he weighed 30 grams. He’s now almost ten pounds.
‘He’s absolutely our mascot. We don’t consider him a pet, he’s more of a companion.’
Now that he’s fully grown, Opie loves taking leisurely walks outside with Kyle’s other pets.
‘All our other animals absolutely adore him,’ added Kyle.
‘They follow him around the yard when he goes on his walkabouts.’
Despite his relatively slothful nature, Opie has been known to get into a bit of trouble.
‘He is potty-trained and has a litter box with yard clippings for him to do his business, but more often than not he will pee and poo over the shower drain,’ said Kyle.
Opie mostly loves to cuddle and ride around on Kyle’s shoulders.
Kyle added: ‘He does what he wants and is super sweet to everyone, but because of that he can never be a wild boy or else he’d walk up a stranger’s leg for shoulder carrying.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/15/orphaned-opossum-taken-in-by-couple-is-house-trained-and-gets-along-with-other-pets-13425076/
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