More Vet Bills

Went out to feed the alpacas last Thursday and found Taxco had several puncture wounds to his right hip, thigh and on his back. The one wound was a nasty gash about two and a half inches long and maybe an inch deep. He had been bleeding pretty profusely so initially it looked like his whole right rear leg was bleeding.

I discovered it when he stuck his head into his feeding pail as I came through the gate. He's always pushy about getting a bite from the bucket before I can set it down. As his head came up he turned to walk towards the feeding area and I have to say I thought my heart was going to stop when I saw his leg.

I got him into the catch pen and fed him there while I examined the wound. It was then that I noticed the several smaller punctures on his back and thigh. A quick examination determined that he hadn't cut any tendons or ligaments but he did have a very deep flesh wound on his thigh and another smaller wound on the underside of his belly close to his leg. I knew that this was way beyond what I could repair and needed a veterinarian's expertise. So after making sure he was comfortable and had food and water in the catch pen the next job was to call the vet. Of course by now it was after five and this would be an after hours call but in an instance like this you don't wait for a less expensive time. This was an emergency.

The vet was out on a farm visit but called me back about an hour later. She said she would be on her way soon but asked me to send her a picture of the wound so she could get an idea of what she might need. Smart phone to the rescue. I snapped a couple of pictures and sent them to her. She called me back to say that she didn't think it looked too bad but she was just leaving and would be there soon. By now I was beginning to wonder if we would have enough day light left for a good examination. As it turned out she made it to the farm before it got too dark. So another day in the life of an alpaca farmer.

Today we still haven't been able to figure out how Taxco got hurt. We suspect that he and Braveheart got to playing around and somehow Taxco got pushed into an old dead tree that is lying in the pasture. We checked for signs of a struggle like bits of fleece caught on branches, or

freshly broken branches, or blood and couldn't find a thing. But none the less that tree is trimmed back so there are no sharp limbs or branches left.

Taxco is recovering and we are washing the wound out twice each day with a saline solution (basically salt and water mixed together), hydrogen peroxide and Betadine (iodine solution). He got an antibiotic, a tetanus and a pain medication while the vet was here. He has such a sweet disposition (he's kissing Andy above); he never even flinched when he got three shots that day. He's been pretty good about letting us wash his wound too. The first day he put up a pretty good fuss but ever since then he seems to know that all we're doing is trying to help him get better.

Braveheart has been by his side ever since the accident. The vet said to keep Taxco penned up for a while until the wound starts to heal over and Braveheart cushes by Taxco's pen every night. Haven't got the vet bill yet but I suspect it's going to be a pretty big one. However, I just thank my lucky stars that it happened on June 30th and not July 4th. That's a bill I really wouldn't want to see.

I'll keep you posted on Taxco's recovery. Until then...

Hope your days are filled with sunshine.

Livin' the dream at Autumn Ridge Alpacas,

Dave