They say, “Whenever a door closes, a window opens.” These words of wisdom are true on so many levels—not only in the lives we live as humans but also in the lives of our furry friends in the animal kingdom.
One such remarkable instance took place on a cattle ranch near the town of Hamilton in southeast Australia. A beagle named Molly had given birth to a litter of puppies, all of which, sadly, died at birth.
Yet the tragedy was replaced by motherly joy when Molly stumbled upon a baby possum that had no mother to take care of it and “adopted” it as her own.
Molly’s owner Elle Moyle shared the story with Nine News, “Molly was very upset and she was looking for her puppies everywhere. While she was looking for the puppies that had died, she stumbled across an abandoned possum. They’ve just been inseparable.”
It was clear that the baby possum, which they named Poss, mistook Molly for its mother, and instinctually, Poss climbed onto Molly’s back—as baby possums would their own mother. But mistake or no, the helpless baby needed a parent protector, and Molly was more than happy to oblige.
Wagging her tail with joy, now Molly roams around the cattle ranch with Poss on her back, and it’s clear they’ve both found what was missing in their lives.
One might argue that beagles and possums, being entirely different species of animals, have little in common with each other and have little business playing mommy and baby. For instance, possums are nocturnal animals, which means that Poss is often found sleeping in a tree during the day, when Molly is out and about.
Yet, as Moyle explains, “Molly just sits under the tree where she’s sleeping and just waits for her.” In other words, they make it work.
There are so many other examples of interspecies affection which proves that maternal instincts, love, can indeed transcend such boundaries. Wolf packs have been known to raise baby humans. Leopards have taken care of baby monkeys. It should then come as no surprise to see the pair bonding and the great joy that it brings them—especially Molly.
Nevertheless, at least for now until Poss grows bigger, they have each other, proving again that, sometimes, when we lose something dear to us, there is redemption to be found—even in the animal kingdom.
