Nubin Denali
ILR # 52382 (guanaco subregistry)
infertile female b. 1980 ... d. 11-4-96
purebred guanaco, parents unknown
(from Alberta Game Farm)
Denali was best described as a family member. She was 42" at the withers, and felt pretty good at around 230 pounds. We had to euthanize her after an arthritic calcium deposit in her neck broke lose and left her with an uncorrectable dislocated cervical vertebrae, debilitating nerve damage, and a great deal of pain.
Denali found intolerable anything that required standing still. Her age, poor conformation, and some early rough handling all contributed to widespread arthritis, and eventually, to her untimely death.
Denali had a keen love of life, and so she received whatever help we could give her, and all the time to herself that she wanted. In spite of her severe physical limitations, mental unsuitability for any traditional or nontraditional llama use, and the numerous management difficulties she represented, Denali was a valued friend and inspiration.
Denali liked sunbathing and gourmet food (honeydew melon was her most recent favorite). We miss her terribly, and feel very fortunate to have known her and shared in her life.
Denali is the English approximation of the native word for the tallest mountain in Alaska, perhaps a bit pretentious in the beauty department, but certainly just as wild. We prefaced that with “Nubin”, a long-running family joke name for “thingamajigger”, which is what llamas (especially their feet) initially looked like to Gwen and which we tacked on to all of our lamas with guanaco blood.
TIME IS . . .
. . . too slow for those who wait
. . . too swift for those who fear
. . . too long for those who grieve
. . . too short for those who love