Pittwater Life October 2019 Issue

Alpaca’d to the rafters!
News
Sleeping in the bedroom, walks at the dog
park, taking dips in the pool, and weekends
away at the family farm; for Newport resident
Capudo, life as a celebrity Alpaca is very sweet
indeed… Story by Rob Pegley
The tale of how Capudo
the Alpaca ended
up living a dog’s life
with the Douglas family in
Newport – a very pleasant
dog’s life, it must be said –
starts as quite a sad one. One
of his owners, Caitlin, takes
up the story…
“We have a family hobby
farm in the Blue Mountains
with a few animals out there:
sheep, chickens, miniature
horses and alpacas. There was
a period where the drought
was really affecting the
animals and when one of the
female alpacas had a baby,
both the mother and baby
died,” she explains sadly.
“My dad spent some time
out there after that, and when
another alpaca gave birth,
he could see they were both
suffering. When Capudo’s
mum passed away,” she adds,
“my Dad started bottle feeding
him to keep him alive.”
It worked. And with
interesting consequences…
“Capudo started following
my dad, Shane, everywhere,”
she laughs. “He literally
thought dad was his mum!”
That was 18 months ago,
and since then Capudo
has been raised like a dog.
Caitlin’s younger sister
Michaela takes him for walks
at the local dog park, and he
often sleeps on her bedroom
floor with the family’s two
‘real’ dogs, a pair of cavoodles
named Cooper and Chevy.
Sometimes Capudo wrestles
with their younger dog
Cooper on the lawn. (A lawn,
incidentally, that Capudo
handily keeps under control
by eating the grass).
As well as grass, he loves
carrots and apples, and is
always
looking for a
snack when
the family
are eating
dinner. He’ll
nose his way
into cereal
boxes if he
gets the
chance. But
as Caitlin
explains,
he’s usually
very well behaved.
“He’s never phased when
Michaela takes him out
walking,” she says “and he
always gets loads of attention.
He’s often surrounded by
people and is really calm.
The neighbours love him
WEIGHING IN: At the vet in Newport.
and often bring their friends
round to meet him.”
Capudo’s admirers stretch
way beyond his backyard
though. He was the star
attraction at Newport Public
Primary School’s Book Week,
when they were reading
‘Alpacas with
Maracas’. He
makes guest
appearances at
local nursing
homes in the
area, where
the old folk
love him. And,
of course, like
any celebrity
he has his own
Instagram
page
‘capudothealpaca’ (check it
out!). With almost 15,000
followers, Capudo can be seen
reclining in the family pool
(he trots down the steps),
wearing cool sunnies and
Xmas hats, and lounging on
the deck with his best mate
10 OCTOBER 2019
The Local Voice Since 1991