“Hi neighbor!” I said, but the animal on the other side of the fence apparently didn’t speak Alpaca. Recently we had 4 new, very large animals move into the pasture next to ours. I wasn’t sure what they were, but I had seen 3 of these animals, next to by my mom’s pasture. I couldn’t get a good look or smell at those, but the new ones were literally right next to the fence. We always thought the Llamas were big, but these animals were huge. They had big heads and feet and liked to graze on grass like us.
Louie informed us they were called horses. After doing a detailed review of their behaviors, he said they were safe for us to interact with. He told us they were fine, as long as they stayed on their side of the fence. As always, Louie was looking out for.
Once Louie gave me the go ahead, I approached one of them to get a good sniff and introduce myself. Soon Nico and Monty followed my lead. There were two boys and two girls. They also had a big barn off in the distance that they slept in, but grazed in the pasture next to us. They were all very friendly and didn’t show any aggression towards us. We liked to hang out by the fence and make believe they were part of our herd. Fudge, the oldest boy liked to stick his big nose through the fence and we all became good friends.
It wasn’t long till we met another part of their family. In our training, since day 1 we were told to be on alert around dogs. Some can be friendly, but other could be a serious threat to Alpacas. Everyone was a little on edge when their dog approached the fence. I noticed her tail was wagging and that put me at ease. Louie quickly analyzed the situation and after a few minutes gave us the sign that “all was safe.” Once again, I led the welcoming committee and the other boys soon followed. I went nose-to-nose with the female dog. She seemed very sweet and quickly let us know she wouldn’t hurt us. None of us spoke canine, but all animals have a unique way of communicating without needing to speak.
Having nice neighbors make us love our home even more. They weren’t Alpacas or even Llamas, but we could see that we have a lot in common like running, playing and grazing. Sure, we look different and have different traits and skills, but that makes it exciting! We will have new opportunities to learn about each other and share our best practices. They also provide us additional security, which the Llamas appreciate as much as we do. Another new, fun adventure with more to come! We can't wait! - B