From: John Workman
Dated: January 15, 2018
Subject: Therapy Llama
I watched a video clip where they are brought into the house like you would bring in a pet dog.
Do they make miniature Llamas???
Though I understand they need to be around other Llamas (herd) so having only one could be an issue for the solitary Llama?
One post says Llamas are like dogs & Alpacas like cats. I wouldn’t know.
Appears Alpacas are also similar temperament:
John Workman
Therapy Llama
January 2018
From: Steve Sevits
Dated: January 15, 2018
Subject: Therapy Llama
Do llamas have hooves which would scratch my hardwood floors?
Steve
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From: Ken Kalish
Dated: January 16, 2018
Subject: Therapy Llama
Well, llamas do not have hooves. They have toes with toenails. Properly trimmed, they don't scratch any surface. That's why the PGA and US Forest Service prefer them to carts and horses on the trail. I've had them in my home when they have been ill and need a uniform environment.
Ken
From: Joe Ciokin
Dated: January 15, 2018
Subject: Therapy Llama
You are definitely on my Bucket List. But it has to be warm.
Joe
From: Ken Kalish
Dated: January 15, 2018
Subject: Therapy Llama
In general, lamas are loving and docile animals, as are pit bulls. Abused, lamas become fighters out of self-preservation, as do pit bulls. Working, lamas know their jobs and perform them with exemplar ability, as do pit bulls. Trained to be nice to kids who pull their hair and stick fingers into lama noses, the lama becomes an ideal family member, as do pit bulls. Trained to assist in a caretaker role, lamas are among the finest therapy animals, as are pit bulls. Lamas go pit bulls one better, though. Lamas can sense disease and disability and will immediately tell contacts whether they are ill. Once having identified an ill or disabled person, the lama will become a protector for that individual, regardless of training. This is part of their being. Try spanking a child in the presence of a lama at a petting zoo and you will immediately regret your action. Lamas follow a “trust, but verify” behavior.
I have had to deal with two berserkers in the last eight years. Both were trained to be berserkers by families who thought it would be a good idea to take a male cria away from its mother before weaning, assign a female family member to bottle feed the animal to adolescence, then having only women be attendants for the animal. Human men become competitors for the human women upon whom the lama has imprinted. Those animals must be destroyed through no fault of their own, as is true of pit bulls trained only to attack human men.
Our Rambo would go into a classroom filled with eight-year-olds and allow them to do any of the things eight-year-olds do when exploring something new. He could hold his water for the entire day, never drop a single “lama pill.” He was an incredible therapy animal. Rambo is gone now, but we still have Oscar. You can ask Guy Slater how Oscar treated his wife, confined to an electric wheel chair. Oscar was in guardian pose within thirty seconds of meeting her, and wouldn’t leave her side. Oscar has also left a three inch gash in my scalp, bitten Lila’s arm, and kicked little Blue dog to death, all of those incidents related to his role as a herd guard.
Give a llama a job, be it golf caddy (as the PGA has done), to protecting herds, to protecting your family, to packing gear on a long trek, lamas will do it and do so happily. I even trained one to wear a pony saddle and give kids rides.
In sum, lamas are wonderful creatures with unequalled intellect, compassion, a language of their own, and complex emotions. I love them for what they are, and they love me for what I am. If you ever get up this way, come by my humble farm and meet some of the most noble creatures to ever walk the Earth.
Ken Kalish Carma Llama Rescue
From: Frank Rogers
Dated: January 15, 2018
Subject: Therapy Llama
Llama rescuer,
There was a woman with a therapy llama on “Watters’ World” who said she had never seen a llama attack and that they were very docile.
I found that conflicts with your writings.
Frank