logan photo

Lost Creek Ranger Logan

 

ILR # 147322

gelding b. 12-8-95 d. 4-3-00

Ranger Dusty x Hyder Llamas Sahalie

Logan was Dusty's first son, and a truly wonderful soul. Logan was a frequent favorite of our farm visitors, and a very special friend of Gwen's, second only to his father (whom he also adored).

Logan's liver was damaged as a result of a tragic accident with a toxic plant when he was five months old. He missed an entire year of growth and only reached 42" at the withers and 175 pounds.

Logan was castrated because Gwen was not interested in having another stud as a friend (one is more than enough!) and Logan was not interested in coping with those hormone things anyway. And, of course, Logan's outward physical problems made it impossible to accurately evaluate his stud potential.

Logan did very well in his show training and was extremely excited when he graduated to the main show string in 1998 — for one thing, he hated being left at home. His favorite class was the Young Pack Class (in which — at that time — the llama carried no weight).

Logan enjoyed "packing" with Gwen at a nearby state park, where the trails were varied, but the terrain was fairly easy — and of course his load never had to exceed some water and Gwen's boots. On April 3, 2000, Logan was having an exceptionally good time on a hike with Gwen and their friend Anne when he suddenly felt very weak and dizzy at a rest stop. He tried to continue down the trail, but soon collapsed and died moments later of heart failure. The necropsy revealed that his entire liver was severely cirrhotic, and that his heart had finally been irrepairably damaged as a result. It was a wonder that Logan had not only lived as long as he had, but that he had managed to pursue so many of his favorite activities with no outward signs of weakness other than his small stature.

Logan liked attention, snuggling with Gwen, going for dayhikes, showing in performance classes, and generally doing "big llama things." Logan was also fond of racing Gwen every day to the gate and to the new barn (where he could eat his pellets and grain away from the other llamas) and back to his own pasture (after eating). He touched many people in his short life, and his extraordinary intelligence, cheerfulness, charisma, and cooperative nature greatly overshadowed his physical limitations. Logan was always in a hurry to live life to its fullest, and he took special pride in making Gwen smile . . . and that he had a real smile of his own.

 

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow . . .

. . . learn as if you were to live forever" [Gandhi]