Help! There Is A Possum Under My Sofa

HYANNIS -  About 7:00 PM, Barnstable Police received a call from a Cedar Street resident reporting a home invasion in progress. She told Barnstable Police Dispatch that she believed there was an animal hiding under her sofa, possibly a possum.

A few minutes later, Patrol Officer Nelson Souve arrived at the scene and the complaintant was waiting for him in front of her residence. Apparently, she did not want to be alone in the house with the alleged intruder. Officer Souve greeted and spoke with the woman outside her front door, briefly gathering information so as to determine an appropriate response to the problem.

Upon concluding his interview with the reporting party, Officer Souve donned a pair of heavy duty gloves and without a seconds hesitation he forged fearlessly into the home to confront the intruder. Unsure of what was going to transpire inside, HyannisNews did not want to interfere with the officer in the arrest and capture of the potentially dangerous suspect, Because of this, HyannisNews bravely watched the front door from the outside at a safe distance. We were ready for anything! Our cameras were aimed and ready to record whatever was to happen next - or come out of the front door.

A few minutes later, after a thorough search of the premises, it was determined that the scene was secure. If there was in fact an intruder in the home, the perpetrator had apparently fled the scene before police arrived. There was no need to call in BCI for photos or to search for prints because there is a lack of possum paw prints and possum DNA in the FBI database. Upon clearing the scene, Officer Souve reported to dispatch that the report was unfounded.

Police work is serious business. Sometimes things go badly. But at other times, the outcome can actually be fairly amusing. Thanks to the quick, thoughtful and effective response of the Barnstable Police Department and the professionalism of Officer Souve, this resident of Hyannis can now sleep easier knowing that she has no unwanted company lurking in the home.

Encounters with wild animals are becoming more and more common all the time, so the above is entirely plausible. In a recent incident involving a Coyote, a woman, baby and dog were stalked in Yarmouth. See the related story and video. Citizens are urged to appreciate wild animals at a distance and not attempt to feed them or provide easy access to food and garbage outside. When they lose their fear of humans, it usually ends badly for all concerned.

Photo: The above photo is not the alleged perpetrator and is not wanted for any crime.  The possum shown is a professional model and the photographer has been duly compensated for the use of this photo.