Playing Possum

I've heard it all my life. I bet you've heard it too. But not until the other night have I seen 'playing possum' done by a professional.
I had gone to bed. Or at least, I was trying to go to bed. But my two dogs, Curley & Lola, kept barking. Usually, this doesn't get my attention. They're both known to bark at shadows, grass blowing in the wind, even the ol' windmill when it creaks in the breeze. But on this night, it sounded somehow different.
So, I got up and looked out my window. There was Curley (a black Cocker Spaniel) standing guard over something. I couldn't make it out. It kinda looked like a cat. Curiousity got the best of me and I got up to investigate.
You need to know that when Curley's eating or guarding over some downed prey, he can be a lil' unbalanced. So, I gave myself a wide berth around this mysterious creature downed and guarded by my sometimes 'not right in the head' lil' dog. Then, I saw it.. just laying there.. kinda roughed up... it was a possum.. not moving a muscle.. but something didn't look right.
At this point, I knew two things. One, I wasn't gonna touch it and two.. Curley and Lola needed to go into their locked kennels. Lola always goes in w/out any trouble. But Curley wasn't about to leave his post.
The only way to get Curley away from the possum was to lure him away with a hotdog. One bite, then two.. then, I had 'em joyfully following me to his kennel. And that's when I saw the professional go to work to save his life.
Just as Curley let down his guard and turned his back, that possum slowly got off the ground and silently scampered off to find cover. I stood there a moment and said out loud.. "So, that's playing possum."
Bill Robertson