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Over the past weekend, we've been taking care of my mother-in-law's dog Laika, a big ball of white fur that normally wouldn't hurt a flea. But my wife saw another side of her.

Last night, Debbie awoke after hearing Laika crying. She was acting as if she needed to go outside and do her business. It was late and we usually don't hear a peep out of them until the next morning, so that seemd a little odd.

Debbie let Laika and our dog Anna out in the backyard and they bolted after a possum. They cornered it and began fighting and growling in a game of tug-of-war over who gets to keep the possum trophy.

Laika (left), who normally wouldn't hurt a flea and takes orders from a cat, and Anna.

We could easily see Anna act that way - she loves chasing small creatures and usually the outcome isn't pleasant. But Laika? Laika takes orders from a cat. She'll back away from her own food bowl if the cat decides it wants some dog chow, as in right this second.

But Debbie saw another side of Laika last night. It's a reminder that even most domesticated and seemingly passive pets still have an inner beast inside, waiting to pounce on a moment's notice.

Amid all the commotion, the possum was doing what it does best: playing possum.

Debbie yelled and waved her arms and was finally able to get the dogs away from the possum, which then made its great escape and disappeared into the woods beyond the fence.

So the next time we hear Laika crying in the middle of the night, begging to go outside, we'll consider ourselves warned: it may not be to purge the bladder but to purge the inner beast.