{"id":120632,"date":"2025-09-05T00:51:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T00:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/120632\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T00:51:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T00:51:14","slug":"woman-finds-dying-animal-at-bottom-of-trash-can-then-saves-a-precious-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/120632\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman Finds ‘Dying’ Animal At Bottom Of Trash Can \u2014 Then Saves A Precious Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was a typical day at Raven Ridge Wildlife Center (RRWC)<\/a> last week when the phone suddenly rang with a frantic caller on the other line. The woman was distraught as she explained the devastating discovery she\u2019d made that morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter calming her down, we learned that she had just returned from a week-long vacation to find a dying opossum trapped in her trash can,\u201d RRWC wrote on Facebook<\/a>. \u201cShe described a heartbreaking scene: the poor creature was swarmed by flies, and a terrible odor filled the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman feared that it might\u2019ve been too late, but she refused to give up on the little guy. She called multiple rescues in her area for help with no such luck, until RRWC answered the phone.<\/p>\n

Facebook\/Raven Ridge Wildlife Center<\/p>\n

Typically, RRWC advises homeowners to tip their trash cans over if an opossum is trapped at the bottom, allowing them to crawl out on their own. However, the staff could tell that this caller was more distressed than most, so they asked her to bring the little guy to their headquarters.<\/p>\n

The woman soon arrived with her husband and the trash can, with the sluggish opossum still trapped at the bottom.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpossums are among the most misunderstood animals on the continent \u2026\u201d RRWC wrote. \u201cContrary to popular belief, these creatures are neither stupid nor dirty. In fact, [opossums] are incredibly intelligent, remarkably clean and serve as beneficial allies to humans and the environment. While they might not win any beauty contests, their presence in your backyard can be truly rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook\/Raven Ridge Wildlife Center<\/p>\n

Opossums are known for their unique physical appearance, but it\u2019s their instincts that truly set them apart from their counterparts in the animal kingdom.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike many mammals that harbor ticks and pose a risk of Lyme disease, [opossums] are nature’s champions, voraciously consuming over 90 percent of the ticks they encounter,\u201d RRWC wrote. \u201cTheir commitment to cleanliness is evident: they meticulously groom themselves using their tongues and paws, making them some of the tidiest animals around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook\/Raven Ridge Wildlife Center<\/p>\n

Opossums are also immune to the venom of most snakes, and their lower body temperature makes them much less likely to carry the rabies virus. But, unfortunately, opossums are not completely immune to danger.<\/p>\n

As avid climbers, wild opossums often tumble into tall trash cans without being able to get back out. These situations can be deadly for opossums, but luckily, this little guy was discovered just in time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the little guy was dirty and had a strong smell, he was surprisingly in good condition overall,\u201d RRWC wrote. \u201cAfter providing a few days of gentle grooming and nourishing meals, we were overjoyed to see him regain his strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook\/Raven Ridge Wildlife Center<\/p>\n

The staff at RRWC celebrated the opossum\u2019s recovery, thanking his rescuer for getting him the help he needed. Within a few days, the opossum was ready to return home, and his reaction to being released melted everyone\u2019s hearts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a rewarding moment when we finally released him back into the wild, where he truly belonged,\u201d RRWC wrote.<\/p>\n

You can see more pictures of his release here:<\/p>\n

The opossum scurried back to his home, elated to finally be able to return to his typical activities. And the staff at RRWC were just as happy to have facilitated yet another successful rehabilitation of an animal they genuinely love.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmbrace the opossum,\u201d RRWC wrote. \u201cYour yard will be better for it!\u201d<\/p>\n

To help animals like this opossum get the care they need, you can donate to Raven Ridge Wildlife Center here<\/a>.\"Tiny<\/a>Tiny Puppy Shivers On Highway, Hoping Someone Will Stop For Her\u201c[S]he got lucky\u201d \u2764\ufe0f<\/a>\"'Crying'<\/a>‘Crying’ Shelter Dog’s Quiet Whimpers Stop Volunteer In Her Tracks\u201cIt completely broke my heart\u201d \ud83d\udc94<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was a typical day at Raven Ridge Wildlife Center (RRWC) last week when the phone suddenly rang…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[6587,8685,49,48,6586,66,2225,6584,323],"class_list":{"0":"post-120632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animal-encounters","9":"tag-ashley-ortiz","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-daily-dodo","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-standard","15":"tag-the-dodo","16":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}