Melanie and I often discuss our capybara brothers: her Caplin was the older brother of my Dobby, not litter mates, but the same parents. They looked alike and shared a unique intensity, an awareness of their own self-importance. They did not share a love of costumes. Caplin was all about dress-up, Dobby not so much.
“Ready? I’m going to put it on his head, take the photo, QUICK!”
The obvious “costume” is a simple hat. Simply place it on your capybara’s head. And watch him run! I tried getting Dobby to wear hats but he didn’t like it. I’m a bit slow to catch on sometimes, but I did finally give up on hats. There are other ways to get the “hat effect.”
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- Clearly uncomfortable in this hat- look at that squint!
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- A photoshopped hat is a good option.
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- He would rub his morrillo on a hat but don’t set it on his head!
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- For this one I hung the hat from the tree and eventually got a photo that looks like he is wearing it.
Dobby didn’t mind wearing his harness and I figured out I could tuck bandannas and other fancy stuff in it.
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- Dobby allowed me to tuck a bandanna into his harness.
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- This pumpkin costume is tucked into his harness, straps dangling loose at the sides.
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- He was very cooperative for this Dobby Lama costume.
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- He was proud of his butterfly wings- look at that pose!
That’s nothing compared to Caplin. He did anything Melanie asked of him, and he seemed to actually enjoy the costumes. Take a look:
Melanie Typaldos (left) and Caplin Rous (right), trial run on the horse costume. Scroll to end photo for the complete effect.
Melanie has a small herd of horses, so dressing Caplin up as a horse had to happen sooner or later. Caplin had no problem with hats. Maybe Dobby just didn’t like my selection of hats. Capybaras can be very particular.
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- Hats are less scary when you have time to examine them properly.
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- Caplin is the reindeer (left) and Capycoppy is Santa (right)
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- Born in the USA . . .
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- . . . Texas, to be exact
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- St. Patrick’s Day
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- The Easter Bunny
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- The Pirate
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- The basic Alien costume is a hat
Caplin would wear a whole costume: hat, outfit, maybe some face paint.
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- A few embellishments and he’s a bona-fide alien!
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- Judging at the pet store costume contest
He looks much younger in this next costume. That is the key, start them out young. Of course, some capybaras just won’t ever wear hats. Do not purchase a capybara in expectation that it will wear hats. You could be disappointed.
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- Look at all the stuff he’s wearing!
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- So proud to be the center of attention.
Finally, a team effort! Matching costumes, something Dobby would never have tolerated!
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- Caplin and Capycoppy have matching costumes!
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- Caplin is surprised, too!
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- But wait, there’s more! Who is that?
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- It’s Neptune the guinea pig! Three matching costumes!
I promised you one more look at that horse. He now has a mane, a blaze, and a white fetlock!
Caplin Rous, at one more pet store costume contest. Squint hard and he looks exactly like a horse!
Cappy Halloween, everybody! Look what I just found, a puzzle! Be the first person to donate $25 or more to Stacy’s Funny Farm, and it’s yours!
672 piece puzzle!
Thank you, Melanie Typaldos for your photos of Caplin! (Not to mention the original effort required to create the costumes and dress up her capybara!)
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RIP
Caplin Rous July 10, 2007 to January 4, 2011
Dobby Winnick February 14, 2009 to July 18, 2018
Dobby the Capybara 