Animal whisperer

We have a house that is always full of the sounds of purring, tail thumping and the very sloppy mouth sounds of animal cleaning rituals. My wife can talk to any kind of animal.Often they talk back.

We miss you Josie

Thursday, when we came home and let the dog out, he immediately started barking and digging at the corner of the yard near my work bench. He usually goes after anything in his territory and patrols for intruders every time we let him out, but this was different than his squirrel and chipmunk bark.
Satu snuck up on the corner while I carried my squirming, obsessed dog into the house. At first, we saw nothing, but then spotted a little patch of fur under the legs of the sawhoarse. Then a little pink nose appeared.
My sister hate opossums, so does my neighbor. In fact, these little coarse haired rats seem to be on a lot of people's no-go list, but not my sweet Disney princess. She dispatched me for cookies immediately.

We always try to feed the animals. We have fed sandwiches to raccoons, nuts to squirrels, turkey to hawks, and released a stunned mouse from the birdfood bin, but this was our first time feeding Jamaican biscuits and animal cookies to a possum. He of course played dead while my wife clicked and chatted at it. I think my favorite part was when she shone the flash light in my face to show the little guy what I looked like. Presumably, that was supposed to calm him down, as if I was not a giant, scary human thing and if he could see me, he might re-animate. 

We tossed him some cookies and he didn't react, then after a little more chirping and cooing, we backed away. Satu couldn't stay away though and went back for another peek. This time the little guy was forced to play dead with an animal cookie in his toothy little smile.

My wife seems to know and understand every person and animal she meets. She's endlessly curious and doesn't judge someone on whether they have a pink rat tail or a mat leaves stuck to their butt fur. She sees every potential interaction as an opportunity to cross boundaries and show the other species in the world that some humans are kind, curious, careful and willing to share their stale treats. 

I for one am very glad to live with her and share my stale treats with a woman who will imitate a raccoon and have long conversations with the cat. I like that she extends kindness to little animals that are scared and might have rabies or might be our new backyard neighbors living next to the woodpile. It's a pretty happy little den to be a part of.