About 14 months ago a co-worker asked me if Crystal wanted a free goat and a Llama.
I grimaced and said, '"Probably". grrrrrrr.......
So we built a fence and two gates and a three sided pole barn, borrowed a trailer from a retired co-worker and hauled the beasts home. Stanley came here with his name attatched, an angora billy. The Llama had no name. She was gifted to Brad along with another Llama and he only had room for one. We threw names around for what seemed like a good while and settled on Hazel the Llama Mama. She was brown and white, really needed a shearing and was pretty stand offish. After a while she would eat out of our hand on occasion if we had the right kind of sweet mix in our mitts. She would make a calling sound at the site of dogs or coyotes or me wearing the wrong hat, and the other animals would come running and duck under her belly. By this time there was another angora/churro goat (Choco) and a little Alpaca (Princess Buttercup).
There is an account further back in the blog of the rodeo the first day I roped her. Then there was a shearing that she was good as gold during, surprising us all. Mostly she was a calm presence that meant we didn't have to worry about our other little guys.
When we came home last Thursday, the 27th Mama wasn't doing well. Her breathing was labored and her lower lip was hanging way down. We went in to gather our stuff to get set to try to help her out and a half hour later when I checked on her.... Mama Llama was gone.
We buried her today, in a nice deep grave where the coyotes she fended off can't get anywhere near her now that she's defenseless. Crys* made sure she had a handful of sweet mix to munch on her way to the next pasture where goats won't ride her back and crazy Denny's won't chase her around the pen.
Stanley misses her already and so do we. It was way too short a time and we got so attached to our friend Hazel. I hope her rest is good and the grain stays sweet.
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