Meet Possum Ambassador: Amelia
Photo by Karen Brace
Written by Liz Hensel
Possum-bilities was founded in March 2022 by Karen Brace on the second floor of their current location in downtown Fredericksburg. Since then, the space has expanded to the first floor. This allowed a shop with 34 local artists to display and sell their work there.
Aside from hosting educational talks about rescued critters, Possum-bilities is a safe space for humans and animals alike. No one likes the attention more than awesome possum Ambassadors who can be found there Thursdays through Mondays.
This is Amelia’s story.
Amelia (aka Melie) and her brother came to Awesome Possumz on June 19, 2023, from a lady who had kept them as pets for nearly three weeks. Possums have distinct personalities just like all other animals and right from the start, Karen could tell that the boy was timid and more careful. Not Melie. Each new enrichment item in their cage resulted in an immediate explosion of curiosity and adventure. She would instantly climb right to the top of each new branch, whereas her brother would wait down below to see if it was safe. So, she earned the name Amelia, after Ms. Earhart, who also loved adventure and exploration. Little did Karen know that the name would prove to be a little too accurate.
Amelia's brother seemed to be a good candidate for release, so Karen put him in an outdoor enclosure, and sure enough, he "wilded up" just fine. He has since been released. But Melie stayed super friendly. Then, one evening, Karen noticed she wasn't putting any weight on her left arm, which earned her a trip to meet Dr. Jen at Blue Ridge Wildlife Center in Boyce, VA, the following day. Radiographs showed that she had a humeral fracture as well as hip disease (very shallow hip sockets). When Karen told Dr. Jen whom Amelia was named after, she said, "Because she thinks she can fly?"
Due to the severity of the break, Dr. Jen and her team couldn’t operate to put a pin in the arm, so they bandaged it and hoped for the best. After just a few days, the arm had already started to heal and after a week the bandage was changed and the bones were starting to become stable. Another week at Blue Ridge and Amelia's progress was fantastic! Because of her injury and hip disease, she may have mobility issues in the future, so she earned herself a permanent place at Awesome Possumz.
To visit Amelia and all her awesome critter friends visit awesomepossumz.com or stop by their storefront at 211 William St., Fredericksburg, VA 22401.
