I’m sure that some of you have noticed the bald spot on my right hip. I’m glad no one has asked about it because, frankly, it’s a bit embarrassing. When I was at the vet clinic in AUGUST 2011 (!!!) I thrashed a bit under anesthesia and my butt hit the wall. Here is a photo of my recovery from The Theft and you can see my fur is a tad thin by the right hipbone.

Recovering from surgery

Four months later, it is still a bit thin over my hipbone, but it didn’t look like a big deal.

Four months later

It has been one year, now. It’s late summer in the front yard, and I don’t care about my bald spot. The weather is nice and life is good!

Marking with my morrillo in the front yard

I’m a little pouffy here, which always makes me look bald: you can see straight through to my skin…or leather. You can really see through in the bald areas.

Pouffy Every Day- My Motto

This is October, 2012, which would be a really great time for new fur to fill in. It has now been over a year, so I am good and ready to get some nice coverage for winter!

Eating apples at the Funny Farm

 But here it is mid-November and…nothing.

Corn makes a mess in the kitchen

In February I am really wishing I had a butt-hat or something for that spot!

Check out that mud!

It’s time to face the fact: I am actually getting balder! Where is my beautiful fur going?

Quit looking at my butt!

Let’s take a good close look. Capybaras that don’t swim much can get skin problems like bad dandruff. My skin looks healthy and clean, though. I even have lots of short fur in that area. It just isn’t growing long.

I guess it is kinda thin back there…

In fact, I am still shedding. I can see that I am losing a lot of fur because it is all over my green blanket! But not so much on the not-green blankets, hmmmm.

Pattern baldness

The fur is missing right around the hip bone. My hips kind of stick out.

My skin is healthy, the hairs are broken.

My fur is very coarse, like coconut fibers, not entirely uniform in thickness, and it is a little bit barbed. It really gets stuck in that green blanket!

There’s no denying the existence of the bald spot.

In March I am even more bald, and I am still shedding! It has been 1-1/2 years since I bumped that wall at the vet clinic! Does this have anything at all to do with that incident? Maybe my hip bones just stick out and fur rubs off. I’m doomed.

I think something is rubbing the fur off! The green blanket! I pull it up over my head every night! Could it be the culprit? Is the green blanket- the one that always seems to be covered with fur- actually breaking my fur off? Or pulling it out? The photo below was taken April 8, and the green blanket is gone. It’s an experiment.

If you look closely, you can see some butt-fur sticking out!

The last photo is April 18, yesterday. I am probably imagining it, but I think some hairs are beginning to grow out! Let’s see what happens! I’ll keep you posted!

I have a very healthy imagination!

[originally published April 19, 2013]