texas « Capybara Madness

Buda Library 2013

Where are we going?

I think Melly is taking advantage of the way I have gotten used to car trips to make me do scary things. If you read my last blog post, you know she recently made me spend the night in a motel. When I get in that car, I never know what is going to happen. Continue reading “Buda Library 2013” »

Magnificent Mud

Me in my little green pool

This is me, just chillaxing in my wading pool yesterday. Melly and I had already gone swimming and the sun was casting long shadows across the lawn. It’s a good time to reflect on the events of the day. But it is also a good time to go for a walk and make some new events.

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Buda Library 2012

Don't hold me down

It finally happened, I had my big debut as Capybara Ambassador. It is fitting that I debuted at the Buda Public Library because Caplin Rous had two big appearances there (you can read about them here) and if I’m going to step into his pawprints, it is good to start in a place where he was well loved.

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Capysaurus rex

Me, Sheldon and Coral at The Dino Park

Melly has got this thing about “science.” She’s always talking all scientific and logical and trying to learn new scientific facts and claiming science is fun and enlightening. Sometimes she even claims I am science, which I totally am. How could a person not look at me and admire my marvelous adaptations to a semi-aquatic environment? How could they not look at my adorable face and see how closely I resemble an overgrown guinea pig? Still, I do not love science to the same extent she does and I’d just as soon not think about certain aspects of it, specifically predators. And of all the predators I don’t like to think about, I really don’t like to think about dinosaurs. Even the ones that aren’t predators. Even the small ones. They are all scary.

So I wasn’t too excited when she told me we were going to The Dinosaur Park in Bastrop, TX.

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Caplin Rous 07/10/2007 – 01/04/2011

Caplin on Dec. 31, 2010

Sometimes things happen that there is just no way to prepare yourself for. Sometimes it seems like your world has fallen apart. That is how I feel now. Caplin Rous was the glue that held my life together. You might think you can see that from his presence on the web and on TV but that doesn’t capture it. The first thing I heard every morning when I got up was his cute little happy Geiger counter noise and it was the last sound I heard at night, at least until he eeped to wake me for a midnight snack.

I’m going to let this blog speak for Caplin’s life, what a wonderful, cute and unique animal he was, his tremendous personality and his gentle nature. I can’t add significantly to that in a single post.

I’d like to thank everyone who has sent notes on Facebook or twitter or posted comments on this blog or any of his accounts or sent me personal emails. I have literally received thousands of messages of condolence and it makes me cry to think how many people’s lives he touched and how many people will miss him. Thank you. It helps to know this. I wish I could respond to all of you individually but, to be honest, I haven’t responded to anyone because I just don’t feel up to it.

We still don’t know what happened to Caplin. He had been irritable for a couple of days but nothing serious. When I left for work Monday morning, he seemed fine. By the time I got home, he could hardly walk. I got his harness on him and was able to lead him to the car but I had to help him get in. I rushed him to Texas A&M University small animal hospital because they were the only ones I thought might have the expertise to help. It was the longest 140 miles of my life. By the time we got there, Caplin could hardly move.

An hour or so after we arrived at A&M, Caplin had a seizure and the vet had to give him a sedative to bring him out of it. After that, he was never really conscious again. He died the next afternoon from another seizure right after completing a head MRI. A full necropsy is being done but preliminary findings indicate chronic liver disease that at the end manifested as encephalopathy. Apparently Caplin had been sick for a long time but never shown any outward signs of it.

I will write a new post when we have the final results of the necropsy.

If you would like to help with Caplin’s medical expenses, please consider purchasing a Capycoppy plush animal from www.CaplinRous.com. We expect to set up a charity in his name and will use excess funds to seed that. When we have that in place, I will post about it on this blog.