ROUS (Rodents of Unusual Size)

Want a pet that acts like a dog, purrs like a cat, but eats like a hamster? I have already been through numerous hamsters and guinea pigs with my own kids and grandkids, especially when I was in the school science lab and. That was where I collected quite of few pet rejects in the rodent family. Mean Jean, Darth, and Chewy just to name a few. None of them acted like a dog or cat and the table scraps they enjoyed from school lunch included raw broccoli, carrots, and grapes, so yep, they ate like hamsters. The students kept the pizza, fries, and chicken nuggets for themselves.  

But back to the topic at hand, the ROUS, or rodents of unusual size, I read about that are now sometimes kept as pets are capybaras. A couple in Texas has one that weighs about 120 pounds and is about 2 feet tall and looks like a giant guinea pig. Named Gari, he likes to go on long walks on a leash like a dog and can shake hands like a dog. Like a cat he doesn't come when he’s called, and he uses a water pot in the family bathroom for a toilet rather than a litter box. His fur is coarse like broom bristles and unlike a cat, he likes to swim. And capybaras can hold their breath up to five minutes. As pets capybaras require a lot of attention along with fruits and vegetables since they are herbivores. Gari is also featured in a blog at gianthamster.com and his owners have started a foundation, the ROUS Foundation, dedicated to the study and care of capybaras.

The only question left I guess is, can I have one?