When Annie Shay's dog suddenly started barking, she knew something wasn't right.
He had spotted a surprising intruder outside, and they were making their way towards her gate.
A surprise guest
To Annie's great surprise, she discovered a small opossum clinging onto her gate!
"It's a dream come true", exclaimed the animal lover, before asking: "Are you friendly?"
To everyone's surprise, she then reached out and started petting the bewildered creature. The opposum turned towards her, baring its teeth and hissing.
Annie showed no fear, continuing to talk to it and even scratching its head. She seemed to completely ignore the animal's signals to stay away.
The viral video
Annie posted the video of this nocturnal encounter on TikTok and it immediately went viral.
Now viewed over 42.7 million times, viewers were baffled and outraged by her behaviour.
"It is NOT ADVISED to IGNORE all its warnings." , wrote a shocked viewer.
"I had a panic attack watching this", agreed another.
Opossums are generally not aggressive and hiss or bare their teeth as a deterrent. Annie later replied to her followers, assuring them that she had thoroughly washed her hands after touching the animal and had not developed rabies. She also confirmed that the opossum left shortly after the video was taken.
