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what the ROUS Foundation Means to Me

Love

Melanie’s post:

I think a lot of you know that after Caplin Rous’s death in January of 2011, I started a charity called the ROUS Foundation for Capybara Veterinary Medicine (RF). I am happy to say that the RF has done a lot of good work for captive capybaras and their caretakers, but it hasn’t been easy.

Continue reading “what the ROUS Foundation Means to Me” »

In Memoriam : Chico Wren

Chico Capybara was a gentle giant

Chico Capybara was a gentle giant


A Melanie’s Mondays post

Losing a pet is always difficult. Losing a capybara is devastating, especially one as sweet and loving as Chico Wren. At three years old, Chico had already captured the hearts of people around the world. His recent appearance on Inside Edition testifies to his ability to enchant an audience. Continue reading “In Memoriam : Chico Wren” »

In Memoriam: Garibaldi Rous

Love on Four Feet

Love on Four Feet

It is with the greatest sadness and pain that I am writting this short post to let you know that Garibaldi Rous died on Sunday, Feb.  16th, just shy of his fourth birthday.

As many of you know, Gari had been fighting a long battle with an infection in his teeth and jaw. When we last took him to the vet, on Thursday, Feb. 13th, he seemed healthy and we had every expectation that in spite of the traumatic removal of his first molar on the lower right, he would recover, at least temporarily. However, he had trouble coming out of the anesthesia and was still a bit groggy when we headed home from A&M. About a half hour into the drive, I called Dr. Hoppes to let her know that I was worried about him and hat his condition seemed to be deteriorating. She told me that the preliminary blood tests had come back and Gari had elevated levels of a kidney enzyme, something we had not seen before. However,  she believed that this, while not good, was not serious, and that it explained why he was having some much trouble recovering from the anesthesia. She believed he would probably feel better in the morning. Continue reading “In Memoriam: Garibaldi Rous” »

Garibaldi is Sick: Vet Visit 8

Melly’s Blog:

Yesterday was another terrible day at the vet and today is one of our worst recovery days ever.

Gari had the first molar on his lower right removed. The tooth was dead and decaying inside the bone. In fact, there was a tunnel through the bone from the first molar to the incisor he had taken out last time. This kept the incisor hole from healing up correctly. Instead the whole thing is full of old food and debris. They couldn’t close it this time because in order to clean it out completely, he would need to be intubated, which is a procedure we have not yet faced.

The second molar is also dead and will need to be extraced. That wasn’t done this time because he was already under for a long time and had enough trauma to his mouth for a lifetime, let alone a single vet visit.

The worst thing is that he is unable to stand or walk or even sit up today. Yesterday when we left the vet, he was able to walk fairly well, but he deteriorated during the car drive home. We basically had to lift and drag him into the house. He sat in his sphinx position all night and is still in it now. This is similar to what happened to Caplin Rous when he got neutered. He is not eating, but at least he is drinking. This is especially good since we learned that he has elevated levels of kidney enzymes, which is something new. Drinking lots of water is important for that.

Right now we don’t know exactly why he is having this bad reaction. It could be because of his kidneys or it could be something else. Because of my experience with Caplin, I am hopeful this will pass in a few days. In the meantime I am trying to keep him as comfortable as possible.

I’ll try to get some video and photos later but right now I’m busy just dealing with this, and the fact that we got into a small accident on our drive to the vet’s. No one was hurt but Gari was thrown into the front seat, like he needed more drama.

Please, no prayers or religious references. If they help you, feel free to say them silently or whatever, but they don’t help us and I’d rather not deal with that now.

How Much is that Capy in the Window?

Garibaldi Rous with Flopsy the Killer Cat

Garibaldi Rous with Flopsy the Killer Cat

Melly’s Blog:

How much is that capy in the window?
The one who hasn’t got any tail?
How much is that capy in the window?
My Gari I never will sale!

Stacy Winnick, owner of the infamous Dobbye Winnick, did a recent post on her blog, Dobbye the Capybara,  about the costs of keeping a pet capybara. This is a very important topic for anyone considering getting a pet capybara or any other pet for that matter. Just how much does it cost to keep a capybara? Continue reading “How Much is that Capy in the Window?” »