Meet Opie, the house-trained opossum who loves playing with cats and crawling around on his owner’s shoulders.
Kyle Fahye, 29, took in Opie as an orphaned baby eight months ago and has raisied him as part of the family ever since.
The adorable marsupial now wears a little collar, uses a litter tray inside the home, and often rolls around inside a hamster ball.
Kyle, who runs a tattoo parlor called Studio 45 in Hackett, Arkansas, USA, said: “Opie’s mama was killed by a neighbor’s dog.
“We’ve had him since he weighed 30 grams. He’s now almost ten pounds.
“He’s absolutely our mascot. We don’t consider him a pet. He’s more of a companion.”
Now that he’s fully grown, Opie loves taking leisurely walks outside with Kyle’s other pets.
He added: “All our other animals absolutely adore him. They follow him around the yard when he goes on his walkabouts.”
And despite his relatively slothful nature, Opie has been known to get into a bit of trouble.
Kyle added: “He is potty-trained and has a litter box with yard clippings for him to do his business, but more often than not he will pee and poo over the shower drain.”
Opie mostly loves to cuddle and ride around on Kyle’s shoulders.
“He does what he wants and is super sweet to everyone, but because of that he can never be a wild boy or else he’d walk up a stranger’s leg for shoulder carrying,” added Kyle.
