Couple Shares Home With Giant 112 Pound Rodent (with video!)

[Initech]

Some people are into dogs, others cats, but Melanie Typaldos is what you would call a "capybara person."

A capybara is the largest species of rodent in the world, about the size of a dog. and Melanie and her husband, Richard Loveman, share their home in Buda, Tex. with Gary, who weighs 112 pounds.

"Although some people might find it strange, it’s really no different than having a dog or a cat. Gary is really very smart and he’s very affectionate," Typaldos, 57, said according to the Telegraph. "He learns tricks very quickly -- faster than your typical dog would. He knows how to shake, how to turn in a circle, how to stand up on his hind legs and how to jump up on things on command."

Typaldos and Loveman, 54, fell in love with the South American rodents while vacationing in Venezuela and later found one from a breeder in Arkansas. Since capybaras spend most of their time in the water, the couple added an above-ground pool for Gary and introduced him to their other pets, including a horse, a dog, a cat, rabbits and tortoises.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/21/gary-the-capybara_n_3480626.html

[Heywood J]

1. I knew someone that had one years ago, only smaller.

It was quite cute and rather intelligent. Like a large guinea pig, in a way.