Today was every llama and llama owner’s almost worst nightmare…
Princess Llama llama llama was attacked while eating her breakfast in her pen.
PLLL will survive. But, it was close.
And the worst thing…
Hubby’s dog was the culprit.
It is very painful for me to tell this story.
WHAT HAPPENED
Hubby and I left the house early to catch a flight to Los Angeles. We had a meeting.
As we were settling into the boarding gate, I received an email from my neighbor telling me that the dogs were barking furiously and the llama was screaming. Something was wrong at the house.
Frantic, Hubby searched for the neighbor’s number (note to self to have those numbers readily available) and I called him.
He told me that the barking and screaming was continuous.
I pleaded with my neighbor to go over and see what was up.
He agreed. We hung up.
… Hubby and I waited – very upset.
Twenty LONG minutes later, our neighbor emailed and said that Shiva, Hubby’s tiny photobombing dog, the gentle dog who invites burglars onto the premises – was attacking Princess Llama llama llama and that she needed medical attention. He had put Shiva in the house.
I froze.
Our neighbor is not an animal person. I had no idea how bad it was …
Frantically, I started calling and emailing all of my nearest friends and neighbors. PLEASE GO TO MY HOUSE AND CHECK ON THE LLAMA WHILE I GET A VET OUT THERE.
The plane was boarding and they were closing the door.
I called my equine vet. Since it was before hours, he picked up immediately.
My vet could hear in my voice my fear. He calmly gave me the numbers of two llama doctors in the area that would take emergency calls.
I hadn’t worked with any of them – would they go to my house without even knowing me…?! Would they find my house?!!
He said, “Tell them to call me if they have any issues…”.
I called the first name on the list and she answered right away.
Without missing a beat, she took my address and said she would over as soon as her assistant arrived – probably 9ish.
At that precise moment, the stewardess told me to shut off my phone.
OMG! DID THE LLAMA VET HAVE ALL THE INFO SHE NEEDED? Would she get there in time?!
I felt totally helpless and I horrible for PLLL. What had Shiva done to her…?
INTERNET TIME
As soon as it was Internet time on the plane, I grabbed my computer and fumbled with my credit card while trying to pay for internet. I was so nervous.
Once online, I continued to email my closest friends – they would know what to do and would also tell me straight how bad it was.
And, as hoped, both of my friends responded. Leslie said she would go right over. Fran said she had just arrived at work but would turn around and go to my house.
Good friends.
No, GREAT friends.
I waited.
30 MINUTES LATER
30 minutes later, I received an email from Leslie who had run inside my house to send me an email from my own computer.
She said that PLLL had a very torn lip. Bad. The vet was adeptly sewing it back on as she wrote.
Fran and the assistant were with PLLL. Everyone was helping assess the situation.
It appeared that PLLL’s lip was the worst. Although there was dog saliva on her chest, PLLL’s deep coat had kept off his bites.
Her legs were fine.
However… there was an auxiliary issue …Bodhi was a mess. He was beside himself with worry for his llama. Poor Guy. He couldn’t do anything from his pen.
I cannot imagine the terror that took place.
THE VET
As soon as we got off the plane, the vet called me. She told me that the lip was bad but she felt there was a good blood supply so that it should reattach well.
There were no other wounds.
I asked – who arrived on scene first?
She said that she had arrived first.
I asked what she saw… were they any puppies harassing PLLL?
(I knew Shiva was the culprit and I was praying that the puppies were not involved.)
The vet said that Mayla was laying down with the llama in the llama pen when she arrived. Mayla ran down to the truck, tail wagging.
Scout was sitting on a pillow on the porch.
The vet felt that the puppies were not involved and not excited or implicated.
I hope she is right.
NOW WHAT…?
Clearly this cannot happen again.
It is unfathomable that our 10 year old – limping and geriatric beagle/minpin would do this.
What in the world possessed him? He’s lived with PLL for 9 months!
Hubby and I have been kicking around ‘next step’ plans.
Shiva cannot be outside unattended. He will have to wear a muzzle. When we are gone, he will have to be boarded or locked in a stall… but what if he got out?
This cannot happen again.
Presently, Fran (one of the neighbors who came to PLLL’s aid) offered to take PLLL for short term safety. However right now, vet doesn’t want me to move PLLL until she is sufficiently healed.
RE-HOMING HER?
So, I have this awful dilemma…
I don’t want to give her up. Bodhi doesn’t want to give her up. My neighbor doesn’t want PLLL forever.
But, what is best for PLLL? Clearly she does not deserve to have any threats in her own home…
Is there a great forever home for her? Or, do we keep Shiva on lockdown for the rest of his life?
I’m OK with that, if that is our only option. Hubby and I bought a humane muzzle on the way home and Shiva is wearing it as we speak.
I do not know what will happen here. But, I do know that I have a huge issue before me.
I SAT WITH HER
As soon as I arrived home, I sat with PLLL. (Hubby dealt with Shiva.)
She wouldn’t come over to me. She pinned her ears. She would not eat the treats I offered although she would nibble at the grass between us.
She is angry with me. I didn’t protect her.
We sat together for a long time. I felt so badly that she was violated in her own, safe place. She never came over to me.
Hopefully, something will make sense soon. Hopefully, resolution will be clear for us – and for PLLL – soon. She deserved a great solution.
This can never happen again.
I sat with her and she totally ignored me – although she showed her normal interest in the kitty.
PLLL wouldn’t come over to me but she nibbled grass nearby.
I offered her favorite food and she sniffed at it. You can see her stitches here.
But, she certainly gave me a piece of her mind. Here she is pinning her ears at me. It felt as if she was telling me that I failed her. She never does this to me. I feel so sad for her and responsible.
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
I’m sorry this happened & all of the previous posts had excellent suggestions. Maybe it was a medical issue with Shiva, since this is not normal behaviour for the dog. The only thing that made me uneasy , was the statement about hubby “dealing with Shiva”. Since I can only “know you ” through your postings. I don’t know you personaly , so I’m sure you will understand. When I read that line about your husband “dealing” with Shiva, my fear was that he was going to beat the dog. I hope that wasn’t the case. These things sometimes happen with our animals & unless we are there the split second it happens, we can’t “punish” whatever that involves for you, after the fact. I myself wouldn’t physically punish one animal for attacking another, but rather examine why it occured in the first place. Glad you were able to rehome your Lama.
Great article!
I have three dogs. Two of them once went together across the street and attacked the neighbor’s goats. (They didn’t kill any, but they injured one.) Before I got the third dog, the other dogs never did anything like that. So I know now that I just have to make sure the two dogs never go out together. I only let one of them out at a time and they are mostly house dogs now. Maybe Shiva can be a house dog, and just let out under supervision. I feel terrible for you. Don’t give up hope, though. See if you can work out a way the animals can be managed. And let us know what happens.
Bless your heart and PLLL….so stressful! Did any of the dogs have blood on them? Id run a string of electric wire around her pen…maybe two. Praying for her healing and yours! Theses animala of ours can rip our hearts out cant they!!!
I had a doberman who attacked a baby goat while I was at work. When I came home I couldn’t believe my eyes. There on the ground, was our beautiful Chloe, dead. It was horrifying. The mother goat stared at the area where her baby was attacked, and cried for 3 weeks. I was broken hearted. I made several calls, and was told some dogs have a very strong prey drive. I called the dog breeder where I had gotten my doberman, and she gave me a name of someone who owned our dog’s brother. Since we had other goats, we decided to rehome our doberman. She now lives happily with her brother. It was a difficult decision but it was the right decision. No animal should have to live their life in fear. Once and animal attackes another animal, they can never be trusted.
My thinking was to protect her with wire fencing tacked onto her rails (someone already posted this). I lost an Angora to my hubby’s dog and he was with her for three years! I believe my Curley Girl reared up to strike a pup and hubby’s dog might have thought he was protecting…..that said, Curley was my baby, my love and hubby’s dog has been banned from being around ANY goats or me. Sorry, I love nearly all animals except one dog. He is in his own enclosure attached to hubby’s shop.
Hay, I wonder if just installing wire fencing around her pen is a possibility, to keep all the dogs out? I also suggest checking Shiva for thyroid issues which can cause snapping (maybe it started with a snap and escalated?). Catherine Ritlaw at Journey’s End Ranch and Sanctuary is a strong believer in particular thyroid testing that isn’t often done by vets on a regular panel, I’ll try to find out what it is and shoot you the link. Sorry this happened tho, I know how you feel…
What surprises me is that I’ve heard that llamas are often used to protect sheep from predators (like wolves). As in kick the crap out of them. Maybe a solo female llama doesn’t do that?
I would hope the muzzle can stay on and also liked the suggestion of using an animal communicator with Shiva. Maybe she could also determine if there were more than one dog involved.
Could Shiva have been protecting her from another animal? Was he trying to tend to her wounds? What exactly did the neighbor see?
Also check Shiva for thyroid problems as this can cause aggression and can be treated!
I am so very sorry this happened to PLLL, and to Shiva. Your heart must be heavy with sadness and frustration, and I hope you don’t feel guilty. Many prayers for a happy solution are on the way to you and your beloved animals.
:-( This had my heart beating faster. I pray for all things to work out for you.
Oh, how upsetting! I would consider a session with an animal communicator to really explore the relationship between Shiva and PLLL, but the senility question seems valid, as well. Isn’t Shiva scared of Bodhi? Can you set up PLLL’s pen inside his perimeter? I hope you find a solution that works for everyone!
Betsy
I hope Princess Llama Llama Llama gets better soon.
I had a ten year old dog that became aggressive and started snapping at people for no When taken to the vet and he (the dog) had the early stages of senility (yes pet can go senile). After talking to the vet it was decided that drugs to help with his mental stability would be the first course. I was careful not to leave him alone for long periods of time without a sitter (someone he knew before his memory started to go) and the vet was on speed dial.
He had another six months before his legs just gave out.
This happened almost ten years ago and I hope that medical treatment has gotten much better for the senility. I know you will get Shiva check out but just throwing this out there because he had no prior bad behavior.
I hope everything gets better soon.
WTH!!!!
Has Shiva shown interest in the Lama feed?
Could PLL have sstepped on Shiva?
Neither MinPin or Begle go for the face/head,they’re more heelers.
DogS were barking.. Uuum-better keep an eye on those puppies.
I’m so sorry this happened for all of you. Can you wrap PLL’s fence in that wire fencing to keep Shiva out? Did you take Shiva to see if he has a brain tumor or something that would make him lose his mind?
I am so sorry that Princess Llama Llama has been hurt. I usually love to hear about her but this is sad and I am sure very upsetting for you and hubby. It’s tragic when two family pets are involved.
It’s a tough decision to make but I hope you come to a good compromise and that she can stay with you. Chris, England.