Mama Odie didn’t have an easy start. When she was rescued, she was in bad shape — likely the victim of a dog attack. Her wounds were so severe, she eventually lost her eyesight. But what her rescuers noticed most wasn’t just her injuries — it was her heart.
Tucked gently inside her pouch were two tiny survivors — her babies. Normally, opossums can carry up to 11 babies at once. The fact that she only had two meant one heartbreaking truth: the rest were likely gone.
But what many people don’t realize is that opossums grieve. When they lose their young or have no babies to care for, they often fall into a deep sadness — even depression. Mama Odie was no exception.
That’s when Samantha MacDougal, a volunteer at Keeper of the Wild Wildlife Rescue and Sanctuary, had an idea that would change everything.
“Why not give Mama Odie a second chance at motherhood?” she thought.
She placed a few orphaned baby opossums — tiny, helpless, and in need of care — into Mama Odie’s pouch. And just like that, the blind mama lit up. She accepted them instantly, cuddling them close, as if she had given birth to them herself.
A Mother’s Love Knows No Bounds
As the days passed, Mama Odie cared for her new babies with fierce devotion. She fed them, cleaned them, and kept them warm. Her world, once quiet and dark, was full of life again.
Then one day, another baby opossum arrived. He had been found all alone and needed someone to teach him how to be… well, a proper opossum. Humans could help him survive — but only another opossum could show him how to thrive in the wild.
That’s when something magical happened.
Across the room, Mama Odie began making soft clicking sounds — noises opossums only make when calling to their mate or their babies. At the same time, the new baby responded. Though they had never met, they called out to one another like old friends reunited.
Samantha watched in awe.
“I was like, ‘Let’s see if this is a match made in heaven,’” she recalled.
It was.
Mama Odie welcomed him like one of her own, snuggling him into the warm pile of adopted siblings. She cleaned him, cuddled him, and just like that — their little family grew.
A Lesson from a Little Marsupial
Mama Odie can’t see. She doesn’t know where her original babies are. But she chooses love anyway. And through that love, she’s giving her new little ones the best chance at surviving in the wild — something no human could ever fully teach them.
Her story is changing hearts, too.
“It’s a miracle to watch this happen in front of my eyes,” Samantha said.
“People think opossums are scary or gross — but they’re not. They’re loving, intelligent, and full of emotion.”
Mama Odie may have lost her sight, but not her purpose. And thanks to a few tiny orphans — she found her way back to joy.
