Hank has a hard time walking, so this woman gave the old possum a place to rest and eat snacks—now their story is warming hearts online
Possums aren’t usually the first thing you picture when you think of cute animals. They’re generally seen as pesky rodents best known for playing dead or being roadkill.
But possums have their charm, too, and sometimes they can win people over and make their way into their hearts… and their homes.
In a post shared on Reddit, one man shared about how a wild possum became an unlikely housemate for his aunt.
“This is Hank,” wrote Reddit user damndirtycracker. “Hank lives in my aunt’s garage. He’s very old and has a hard time walking so she set up a warm place for him to rest and feeds him lots of treats.”
While many people have tried to get possums out of their garage, this aunt has made it a welcome home for Hank. She has a big spacious garage and the possum has his own out-of-the-way space. Since it’s not attached to the house she can leave the door open so Hank can come and go as he pleases.
This relationship has been going on since Hank showed up a few years ago, and he seems pretty happy to have a place to stay and eat cat food.
“He’s not tame but also never hissed or seemed afraid,” damndirtycracker wrote. “As he’s gotten older, he stayed around longer until he just decided he was going to take up residency in the garage.”
Although Hank can be a little grumpy, he’s won over by treats: “Moderately grumpy is pretty much his default state until the treats come out, then he’s only slightly annoyed by your existence.”
Possums have short lifespans and Hank is already a few years old, but it’s nice that this possum gets to live a nice cozy life while he’s still here.
And he’s convinced the internet how cute a possum can be. Many commenters on the Reddit post said they unexpectedly fell in love with the animal after seeing the photo of him curled up in the garage.
“When she told me about Hank, my first thought was definitely not ‘aww,’” damndirtycracker wrote. “But then I saw him and realized I’d die for him.”
Thank you to this aunt for giving this old animal a nice place to stay! It’s a nice reminder that the not-typically-cute animals deserve some love, too!
