Llamas at Lost Creek Annex!
Miaka
ILR # 116077
female b. 7-8-1992
Happy Valleys Ajax x Happy Valleys Angel
click on the photo to see more pictures of Miaka on flickr®
Lacy's Princessa
ILR # 91094
female b. 7-31-1991
Verdad x Lacy Kay Dalton
click on the photo to see more pictures of Princessa on flickr®
OM Summer
ILR # 115747
female b. 8-1-1993
Jericoe x OM Willow Tree
click on the photo to see more pictures of Summer on flickr®
Anne has been our friend since 1979 and may as well be family, and so of course her llamas are family, too. Anne did our farm sitting for many years until increasing travel for her job made that essentially impossible; Anne also boarded her first llama, Masked Bandit, with us until his death at age 21.
Anne took a great deal of time to prepare for having llamas on her own property (unlike so many people who jump first and regret much ... both soon and long afterwards) ... even though she knew right away that she just had to call her acreage "Lost Creek Annex" (Anne is an incurable punster). Anne also (being wise) asked us to set her up with two or three llamas on a trial basis so she could be sure she and the llamas were all compatible with each other and the situation. Anne knows herself pretty well and wanted to care for one or more special needs llamas, but also wanted at least one (preferrably two) llamas capable of joining her for regular walks and up for moderate hiking when the weather is suitable; for the latter, the llama(s) would need to happily self-load in her Toyota van (near-twin to Gwen's Trustyvan). We're pretty good at matching up animals, so it was not a surprise that the "trial period" ended with all three llamas staying at Lost Creek Annex with Anne.
Lost Creek Annex was set up (with extensive consultation from us) to provide exceptionally flexible accomodations and grazing for a small group of llamas despite potentially very different individual needs. For instance, each llama has her own private stall for the daily supplemental feeding times (so nobody has to be tied up to eat, yet each gets her own portions according to her requirements) and all llamas are weighed and monitored regularly. It's a very special blend of our vast experience accumulated over many years with many, many llamas and Anne's personal one-on-one attention and dedication to applying that experience with a special brand of allowing individual personalities to "be themselves" in the many ways that promote mental and emotional health that results in the best possible care for each llama. Really, we are envious!
Best of all, we get to visit special llama friends Miaka, Princessa, and Summer frequently — whenever we visit Anne, who lives a short three miles away from us!
Miaka came to us with Zorra, with the understanding that she was to be suitably rehomed. Unfortunately, Miaka sustained a deep ligament hip injury shortly after her arrival here. Initial introduction periods are always risky, and Miaka also was not used to such a large herd (over time, we could see that it stressed her to be with so many other llamas, even though other llamas think a herd of a dozen is not big enough!). Regardless, we felt awful about it, and it was even more tragic because it reduced her placement possibilities to almost none. Although Miaka is permanently lame, she has blossomed at Anne's and thinks a herd of three is perfect for her. What's really great is that Anne is fascinated by Miaka's perspective on the world — and so Miaka finally has someone who appreciates her as being very special, not just another llama.
After Princessa lost her good eye to an infection (the other has a scar from the massive corneal abrasion she had when we rescued her; the scar blocks about 25% of that eye's vision), we struggled to find a place for her to fit in. She was much too vulnerable in the larger female herd, and even prone to getting "greened" for inadvertant blind transgressions in the smaller maternity/retirement female herd. Worse still, Princessa is still super-active and drove the maternity/retirement females crazy. Still, we really hated the thought of allowing Princessa out of our care ... as well as losing out on her amusing side. Lost Creek Annex was the only place we were comfortable sending Princessa, and it's worked out perfectly. At Anne's, Princessa's energy and antics are much appreciated, and she only has two other llamas to keep track of. Although her limited eyesight makes walking and hiking with her a very different experience than with a fully-sighted llama, Anne reports that she and Princessa definitely enjoy their outings together. Even though we miss seeing Princessa's creativity on a daily basis, we do have the next best thing — we can stop at Anne's to get a "Princessa fix" anytime we want.
Summer came to us with her best friend Dallys and Dallys's daughter Peanut. We had admired Summer since we first knew her and expected her to remain here forever, but after Dallys's unexpected death, Summer returned to her previous behaviors of segretating herself from the main herd and eating only the minimum amount necessary to survive; even Peanut (whom she'd known for the previous three years) was of no interest to her. As much as we liked Summer, we had to put her health and her mental wellbeing first ... and that meant admitting our place really wasn't suitable for her, especially as age would soon cause her metabolism to change and require even more food. Like Princessa, we were committed to Summer's care for life, and very much hated facing the truth that we could not provide her with what she needed. Also like Princessa, we were not comfortable trusting Summer's wellbeing to anyone except our friend Anne, who not only would never think of breeding Summer, but whose facilities allow Summer's weight to be monitored and feed adjusted before there's any chance of a problem being missed and snowballing. Lost Creek Annex also has much more grazing available (other llamas can hog hay, but not whole pastures!)
Coincidentally, Summer is also related to Anne's first gelding, Bandit. Almost eerily like Bandit, Summer is quite introverted, keeps her own counsel and doesn't commit to relationships quickly. It's a very good thing for Summer that she's with Anne, because Anne understands her issues and can accomodate them instead of (like so many people) being disgusted because Summer can't be someone she isn't and never will be. Summer still hangs back and doesn't mingle too closely, but her weight is finally what it should be, and she is warming up to both Anne and her two llama pasturemates ... at her speed. Better still for both Anne and Summer, she is getting many more interesting outings than she ever would have gotten here — a great situation because Summer will be quite capable of hiking for many years yet. Summer has the prior packing training and trail experience Anne had wanted, and yet Summer is not up to the strenuous packing that we undertake ourselves (also like Bandit, Summer's gaits are average and her rear end lacks power).
Even though having to place out neat llamas we resonate with (like Summer and Princessa) really hurts, in part because it exposes our time and facility limitations painfully, and even though we feel especially badly that Summer had to endure almost two years in our "unsuitably large" herd (according to her standards), we did appreciate our time with Summer, and now are even more certain that the sacrifices were worth it for all concerned (except for Joey, who ended up suffering greatly through no fault of his own): Had Summer stayed where she was, she surely would have been dumped at the meat auction in Joey's stead.