Little did anyone know that the girl turning heads as she strolled Brighton’s Main Street on Thursday was a TikTok star named Daisy. All anybody knew was that they had never seen anything like her before.
Daisy, a 140-pound capybara owned by Steve Spisz of Howell, was at The Pound Bar & Grill at 139 W. Main St. in downtown Brighton to meet the owner’s daughter and soak up some sunshine on the patio.
Daisy is one of the two capybaras Spisz owns; together, they have 116,000 TikTok followers. Spisz will tell you that Daisy’s the sweet one who loves Chicken McNuggets, greets him at the door when he comes home, and uses a litter box; and he’ll tell you her brother, Jeorge, is equal parts typical teenager and lady’s man who often misses the litter box.
Three years ago, Spisz, an admitted animal lover, had been researching cool, exotic pets to own when his youngest son, who was on a travel baseball team, phoned from Saginaw to tell him there was a pair of capybaras for sale at a pet store.
For those of you, like me, who didn’t know anything about capybaras, they’re the largest living rodents in the world, and native to South America. They’re extremely social, semi-aquatic herbivores that need elbow room and a companion.
“I just couldn’t separate them,” he said.
And so Daisy and Jeorge, then just 10 pounds each, moved in with Spisz, his 5 kids, and his 2 dogs.
The two capybaras, who today weigh about 140 pounds each, became so much a part of the family that they slept with Spisz until his kids pleaded with him to kick them out of his bed.
“Dad, if you ever meet somebody and bring them home, what will they think of you sleeping with capybaras,” they said.
Spisz got the point, and so, on Jan. 1, Daisy and Jeorge were banished to the downstairs of the house.
But Daisy — who considers Spisz her special friend — whined and whined and whined for him. And then she whined some more.
Spisz now sleeps downstairs with the two.
His house has been capybara-proofed: Spisz has epoxied his floors (mostly because of Jeorge); he’s built them a pond in the yard; and he is constantly cleaning up after them.
“They’re a lot of work,” Spisz said. “I don’t know if I’d do it again.”
But that doesn’t diminish the love he has for Daisy and Jeorge.
“They’re my babies,” he said.
One of the challenges has been finding local veterinarian care for the two, since there are so few capabyra in Michigan.
Spisz hosts private 45-minute meet & greets with Daisy and Jeorge for up to six people at a time. The cost is $60 per person. To schedule a meet & greet, email michigancapybara@gmail.com.
You can check out Daisy and Jeorge’s TikTok page by clicking here.
And if you’re lucky, you can catch Daisy at The Pound Bar & Grill in downtown Brighton.
