When we stop and think about being RESCUED, we usually think of a life and death situation. This is not always the case with animal rescues. Life circumstances change. People move, divorce, get ill, die, get over burdened, become neglectful or in the worst-case scenario, are cruel. Our animal friends do not always fit into human plans and it becomes necessary to find them new homes. In our pasture we have fourteen llamas and two alpacas. Of this group eleven are classified as rescues. We bought our first two llamas, we adopted two special llamas and one of our rescues had a cria, our special gift. All of our animals are greatly loved for their unique selves, their special needs and their potential.

Dealing with rescues requires patience and more patience. In our experience, we find that rescues need adjustment time and individual attention. They need time to adjust to their new home, their handlers and the other animals in the herd. They need individual attention to discover their personal needs and abilities. Most of our rescues were untrained even to the most basic things. Winning over their trust has been our number one goal. Just touching them can be a big step forward. One of our girls, Feliz flinched so badly for her first year here that you could not help but wonder what led to this behavior. It was as if she was ducking and covering her eyes from every move we made towards her. Offering her food in a dish was a traumatic event for her. She has been a real challenge. Today she stands without flinching, can be petted, brushed and haltered without a big fuss. She loves hand treats and seems to have found her place in the herd. She is still a nightmare when it comes to toenail trimming, but she is coming along. We have two girls, Ellie Mae and Zoë, who are not use to human touch. Ellie Mae is huge. She uses her size to bully herself around the herd and humans. Dan is making progress haltering and petting her. She actually seems very calm when she is restrained. She needs security and direction in her life. Zoë is very friendly and will now allow you to pet her neck while she is eating. She is getting use to our presence around her and shows great promise. We are not experienced trainers and this in itself has been a drawback. We are learning as we go and this makes progress slow. But we don't watch the clock and if a llama or alpaca needs a long time to get use to us, so what? We are committed to the animal and not the tick-tock.

When we got our first three rescues, we had a very wonderful Pam Flaman to help teach us. Pam and her daughters showed us how to trim toenails, give annual vaccinations and wormers. (We are still not injection givers. It is something on our TO LEARN list. Our vet has been guiding me, and I am making human progress.) We remember very well, how we saved our macho gelding, Cliff until the very end of all the llamas to trim his toenails, fearing that he might be our biggest handful. What a pleasant surprise to give the "FOOT" command and see Cliff lift his foot immediately. He had been well trained in his past and it has been a pleasure to have Cliff and discover all his hidden talents. Who would know? He was just a "rescue". Cliff is a perfect example of a wonderful llama disguised as a rescue! We have two other well-trained rescues, Peggy and Fiver. Peggy is 24 years old, has had 13 crias and is a sweetheart. Fiver is an exceptional llama with a history of 4-H greatness, packing and parades. His pasterns have fallen, but his spirit is young and playful. Rescues come in all sizes, shapes, conditions and ages. Each one brings a special joy into the pasture.

Our pregnant rescue, Molly came with a six-month-old nursing cria in tow. Molly was basically untouchable until she had her second cria, Kalli Juji. We thought it was just the way Molly always would be. It was pregnancy related behavior. Today Molly is very easy to handle and gives great big kisses! She is a great mother and a beautiful tall classic looking llama. Candy, her first cria was WILD and totally frightened to be in the presence of humans. She clung to her mother and hummed all the time. After two months of letting Candy get use to us, she came around. She started to eat hay out of our arms and gradually would accept a pet on her cheek while she was eating. Today, she is our easiest girl to halter, lead and give a hug. She is outgoing, friendly and inquisitive when visitors come. Candy has a lot to learn, but what a long, long way she has come. Rescues may never have known a gentle human hand, but they can learn to accept one and you will be rewarded with a new best friend.

Millie was an abused llama. Her halter was fused into her nose and she had a very bad sore on her rump when Niki Anderson-Kuklenski rescued Millie and her brothers from a despicable situation. There is a point when neglect and abuse have to be dealt with and thank goodness there are good folks lie Niki and Jeff to step in and save these llamas. Millie's physical wounds have healed. I hope her heart is healed too. Millie is smart; she learns quickly and is a GOOOOD girl. She is a beauty. Her sire was Pandemonium and her dam was Marvelous Monica. Rescues can come from great bloodlines.

Our alpacas came from a woman who had too much going on in her life and she felt overwhelmed. Haven't we all felt that way sometime? Rocky and Joe have given our pasture a new look. They get along well with the llamas. Rocky is the low guy on the totem pole with a look and charm that endears him to anyone he meets...from a distance. He prefers distance. He is gradually letting us come closer. He will take hay and grain from our hands now. Once caught, Rocky is absolutely wonderful to work with and handle. He just doesn't trust us yet. His brother, Joe was also untrained when he came here. Joe is very bold and aims to please. He loves food and we have used treats to teach him to halter and do obstacles. Joe is a good example of what attention can do. The alpacas are very special to us. Rescues come in cute little packages too.

Our other llamas would be upset if we did not mention them. Annie and Clara are half-sisters that we bought when they were one year old. They were untrained too. It is not just rescues that do not get handled and trained at that early age when it is so easy and progress is so swift. Blossom is our herd queen and is a special girl that we got from Wendy and Bill Cummins. Blossom is our teacher. She is the best-trained llama we have. We are blessed with her ability to be a good example for the other animals. Her presence has a calming effect on the herd. Cochise was a gift from Allen and Jean Schwartz. He is our handsome gelding who is the SPARK in the pasture. He makes sure that the boys know who is in charge and keeps them on their toes. Cochise is well trained and amazed us on our first outing by jumping a log bigger than him. Kalli Juji is our two-year-old baby. She will always be our baby. Crias bring unspeakable joy into your life. We are reminded by our rescues that not all cute babies end up in the best situations.

We are proud and excited to have llamas and alpacas. They added immeasurable wealth to our lives. The animals RESCUED us! They changed our middle-aged mundane lives into a daily list of chores, excitement and constant busyness. They have dared us to grow in ways that we never dreamed. They are the TREASURE on our farm.

There are llamas and alpacas that need you! We hope you find room in your pasture and heart for one, two or more. The most difficult part about rescuing is that we know that there are so many more animals that need homes. Our pasture is full and it hurts not to be able to do more. Maybe you have a special blessing just waiting to meet you. We hope so!