Road Kill 101

rookie: what’s a possum?
me: it’s an animal with a long nose, about as big as a cat, hangs in trees. why?
rookie: a customer said she found one dead in her pool.
me: (shows her a picture) this is what it looks like.
rookie: it’s ugly. it looks like a mouse. what does it eat?
me: not really sure. i think they go through people’s garbage like raccoons.
rookie: what’s a raccoon?
me: (shows her a picture).
rookie: that's cute.
me: yeah, but it can have rabies so don’t touch it if you see one.
rookie: when you’re driving on the freeway and you see dead animals are they possums?
me: sometimes. they can also be raccoons and skunks.
rookie: what’s a skunk?
me: (this child needs to visit a zoo or watch bambi) (shows her a picture). if you see one don’t get too close. it could spray you. the spray smells really bad.
rookie: interesting. what other animals are dead on the freeway?
me: deer. cats, sometimes birds.
rookie: people hit birds?
me: my dad did once. it left a grease stain on the windshield.
rookie: in china we don’t see dead animals on the road.
me: that’s because people in china eat everything.