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Possum

Outgoing Dog Gets a New Owner

By Debra Bell

washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Thursday, August 28, 2008; 1:40 AM

Possum, a gray mixed-breed with furry brown legs and a touch of white on her paws and the tip of her tail, was also one of the 8,500 dogs temporarily sheltered at Lamar-Dixon. Jennifer Hammond chose Possum as one of the fortunate animals to bring back to the Montgomery County Humane Society (MCHS).

Robin Siegel, former Director of Humane Education for MCHS, saw the "very springy, athletic, noisy, rambunctious little dog" and decided to foster her until her owners could be found.

She posted Possum's photo on petfinder.com several times, and despite hundreds of volunteers trying to reunite lost Katrina pets with their owners, her owners were never located.

"If the owners were available to be found, I would have found them. We looked everywhere," she says.

Siegel says Possum shows no aftereffects from the storm.

"She's never been a nervous dog." She's got a very outgoing personality," she says. "She just comes into a house and takes over."

"She's also very demanding of space, which the other three dogs in the house don't appreciate."

Possum was rescued after Hurricane Katrina.
(Photo courtesy of Robin Siegel)