Breeze

We waited all day for Dr. Rachel to come and look at Breeze. He won't get up in the morning and lies all day, flat out on the barn floor. This is not typical of llamas. They sit up like a sphinx with their legs folded under them most of the time and rarely go flat out, unless it's while rolling in their favorite dust bath. I also needed Dr. Rachel to send two older goats over the Rainbow Bridge. They have been down for two weeks and I have been feeding them by hand and helping them drink water. It's so heartbreaking when old friends become infirm. Cupid was one of my first goats, a wether, and so friendly. Ada gave me a beautiful kid just last year. I don't know exactly what caused them to take a turn for the worse, but I had to end their suffering. Dr. Rachel brought a new assistant with her, a lovely young woman, who was very attentive to everything she was doing...but somehow it made the situation harder for me. The assistant would say things like, do they know what you are doing? Do they understand. Dr. R. said, yes, they sense it. I would rather not hear that. I would rather she just go about her professional business which she is so good at. The assistant asked if she did many of these and Rachel said no, that most people don't keep their goats around this long. I know that to be true. I was happy I stayed home to help Matt get through this. He was very upset, and took the bodies up to the ceremonial dead pile, where the coyotes will feast tonight on our little friends. I would rather they go back to the earth that way, because I love all things wild and because I think that's better than going into the ground. Breeze might have meningeal worm, that deadly parasite that gets in the spine. She said llamas exhibit different symptoms. I should do another round of ivomec and banamine for pain and to reduce swelling. After she examined Breeze we rolled him up and he teetered around for a minute or two before going out to eat hay. Matt picked up some round bales for me this morning and they are parked outside the east end door. Once Breeze is up he is okay, then he goes flat during the night and stays that way unless I help him up. All this is very unsettling for me. Dr. Rachel also looked at Uno, who has a swelling under his front leg...a blood clot she said, possibly from being kicked or gored by a horn. I showed her the new sheep and she said they looked pretty good for rescues. We talked a while and she left with her assistant. Dr. Rachel is going home to Nova Scotia for a week after Christmas, which makes me very nervous with all these pregnant sheep.