You just need too shock it as you always do when you open....

I have pulled one Possum and 3 snakes out off my pool so far this year. I just pull them out, sling them over the fence and then jump in.

Please remember that shocking a process and like all processes, there is a right way and a wrong way. More is not better and can be detrimental.

Its one thing to raise one's chlorine for cause, normally combined chlorine, and another to address the perception that more is faster. While it can be faster, adding too much can result in the formation of by products and a thinner wallet. The speed is not normally an issue. Chlorine is fast acting against the vast majority of bio-badies and other contaminants as long as it is in the correct amounts.

The 10X rule, aka breakpoint chlorination, that is taught in the formal Certified Pool Operator course is for one type of contaminant, ammonia, that forms combined chlorine (CC). In 15 years, I have had to go that far twice for a residential pool. My normal elevating level is 5X to reduce CCs. CPOs are generally needed for commercial pools like at a hotel or the Y. I did it personally for marketing reasons.

When opening a pool, raising the free chlorine is important. There may have been contaminants that were left alone for an extended period. If they were alive, they need to be killed but not nuked. Nuking is not a good thing.

Proper testing and dosing is important! It saves you money.

Scott

I'm with paradigmdawg....sling the offending dead animal out of the pool and jump in. I would add one more precaution...if you have kids, don't tell them or they will be grossed out :)

If the thought of jumping in after one of these events still gives you the heebie jeebies, then chlorine (bleach) is a good sanitizer when used as prescribed by Scott.

Construction of my first pool is almost complete. I went to Pool School on Saturday and the instructor asked if anyone had found a drowned rabbit yet in their pool. At the time I thought he was trying to scare us (in a joking way) but now that I see this question, I'm not so sure. I can handle snakes and frogs but something furry is going to be hard.

Thanks everyone for your responses. We believe this poor squirrel was under the pool cover for months, ugh. Anyway, we did shock the pool.