[Alpacasite] Thinking out loud - Food for thought

I know, dangerous ground, Janice is thinking....

Seriously, I was reading on another site how a man with health
problems is "dumping" his llamas. None of us is getting any
younger, some of us are already facing health problems or have
health problems in members of our families. Not only that, but our
animals are getting older too....

I've spoken to a great many alpaca owners in the past few days.
Everyone that I've spoken to has made the point that our alpacas are
such a source of comfort and stress relief. What happens to that
comfort if we are faced with a catastrophic illness in ourselves or
a family member??

I think that most of us alpaca owners fall into 3 categories.
Partners where one of them does most of the alpaca care, partners
where they both share the alpaca care and those fortunate enough to
be able to hire help. What happens if one of those partners gets
sick or worse, dies???

I know that I have many alpaca business aquaintences. I also have a
few dear freinds that are also alpaca owners that I could rely on
for a little while if I needed to. I also know that facing a
catastrophic illness, surgery or decline in health would be
devastating, but also the thought of having to get rid of my herd at
firesale prices would be just as devastating at an already
incredibly stressful time. It would be hard to ask for someone to
care for my animals, but even harder to sell them off, and alpacas
don't fly off the shelf under ordinary circumstances, do they?

What are the options? How many of us have a plan for the care of
our animals if we are faced with something like this?

I know that if the owners of one of our local ranches were to face
something like this, I would offer to do whatever I could to help
out with their herd for as long as they needed me to.

There is a woman whose husband just had surgery that ended up with
major complications. She spent most of her time at the hospital
with her husband. Who was there to help with her herd? I've heard
of another person who is facing chemotherapy? Who will be there to
help with their herd? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to say "I'll
take care of your herd, you just get better?" I realize that that
isn't possible for everyone, that we all have our own herds and our
own lives. But, gosh, it sure would be nice to know that if I were
sick, that I wouldn't have to sell off my beloved animals, my source
of comfort and stress relief, at a time when everything else is
going to hell.

What happens in other livestock industries when something like this
happens to a rancher or farmer? Are they forced to sell of their
dairy herd or pig ranch? Or do other ranches help them out? I just
don't know.

Do you think that most alpaca ranches have a network of ranches in
which to rely on in a situation such as this, or are more
ranches "on their own" when it comes down to it? Would you rely on
friends or be willing to ask a total stranger for help if you knew
that they might be willing?

I know that many of you have joined the emergency network, and many
more of you have listed your ability to help others here on
alpacasite. I think that you all have considered the financial and
physical implications of offering this kind of help. I'm NOT asking
for volunteers for anything. I'm just wondering if we have
considered this possibility and have a plan for it's eventuality...

Thanks for listening to my ramblings. I'm not very articlulate, and
I really wish I had the words to be able to say what I'm thinking,
but I hope that I got my ideas across. It's been on my mind for
some time now, and I had to put it down in writing.

Off to sit in the pasture and enjoy my wonderful animals.

Janice Mortimer
Sandy Acres Alpacas
Escalon CA
209-505-2959
www.sandyacresalpacas.com
www.camelidemergencynetwork.com
janice@sandyacresalpacas.com

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