Confuzzled

Of late, on the nights that I take a cab to work, my little sister and I have developed a ritual of sitting together on the porch, joking around and debating. Nothing serious; the verbal equivalent of puppies tussling. We'll run through some Japanese, and she'll insist that "Nom desu" is a perfectly acceptable translation for "Everything is delicious." (It's actually "Zenbu ga oishii desu" if you were curious.) Things like that.

Tonight's debate was (only) slightly more serious, if only because it leaves me a bit bemused. What kicked it off was that she caught sight of a small opossum ambling across the yard.

Her: What's that? What is that?!?!?! *flips open her cell phone and menaces the poor creature, much after the fashion of crosses with vampires... Remind me to ask her why... o_0*
Me: Oooh, a opossum! *delighted, as it was an animal I hadn't seen in a while*
Opossum: *runs, terrified, to hide underneath one of the cars from the madwomen on the porch*
Her: Ewwwww! Gross! *picks her feet up off of the ground and writhes unhappily on her chair in spite of the fact that the critter was never closer than a good 20 feet away*
Me: *Mystified* But it was just a little baby opossum.
Her: *Wailing, as only she can wail* It was not! It was huge! Wild animals are gross!
Me: o_0.... They are not.
Her: Are too! They spread diseeeeease!
Me: So do people. That little guy has more reason to be scared of us than us of him.
Her: Horribllle! It was horriblllllle!
Me: *calling out in the general direction of the opossum* Don't you listen to her, little fella, you're adorable!
Her: *Wailing* It is not!
Me: ... Aren't you the kid who wants to be a veterenarian?
Her: But I like domesticated animals!
Me: Well, you'd probably have to deal with some wild animals anyway. Birdies with broken wings and suchlike... And what about the deer that was in our yard the other week?
Her: But they're covered in filllllth!
Me: Our cats hang around outside all the time! They don't get filthy. What about bunnies?
Her: Filllllthy, they're filllllthy and nasty and evil and your cab's here!!!

So yeah... My puppy and kitty-loving little sis gets the heebie jeebies from wild animals. :-? I mean, I'm not suggesting trying to go up and pet one or anything, but I'm surprised at such a strong reaction when the little guy was just walking by...