LLAMA-A-RAMA

I recently visited a farm with a very interesting watchdog. She's about a year old, very friendly, and spits instead of barking.

Actually, she doesn't spit very often. According to her owner, she has to be severely perturbed before she lets it rip. And there's warning. Like horses, llamas flatten their ears when they're angry. Horses don't hork though. Apparently she stretches her nose straight up before she lets it fly. Good to know.

But she's just the cutest, sweetest, friendliest critter! We were warned that she was in a bad mood... which makes me suspect that if she were in a good mood, she'd have crawled into the trunk of the car and come home with us. Not that I would have minded. I was not-so-secretly plotting a way to stick her in the car without anybody finding out. (Where's that truck when I need it?!?)

Oh, oh- here she is, scratching her belly with a hind foot! My Pug does that! It's so cuuute!

If you ever have the chance to see a llama in real life, you must notice the feet. They're like paw-hooves. Little padded feet with two chunky toenails in front, or maybe a better description would be tiny split hooves. I can't think of another animal foot like this.

Good for sneaking up on, and scratching!

But the face. Oh, the face. With that delicate muzzle with a comical hare lip, and little camel nostrils, and big, heavily lidded eyes, they look perpetually aloof but secretive. Sleepy. Bored yet amused. Like they've got a joke on you. And those eyelashes... you know how I feel about long eyelashes!

She came right up for a snuggle and to my surprise, she has the softest fur, not coarse like I imagined.

Then she stuck her bottom teeth out at me and I laughed.

I would love to have a llama. I mean, I wouldn't want to put the Pug out of work, since he takes his guarding duties so seriously. But c'mon, wouldn't a Pug & Llama Security System be a new form of awesome?

I'd draw the line though, at the llama sleeping in my room.

Okay, maybe just when it's really cold in the winter...