Life on Dragon Ranch is beautiful, but the nature of ranching is most assuredly challenging. It can be hard at times, but the wins are sweet and the lessons we can teach Landon along the way are, most often, things he will carry with him through life. In the picture above, you can see Landon keeping Lilly calm while after Sarah had removed all the damage done by the impacted tooth.
Lilly is a delightful alpaca with a bright smile, playful spirit, and has always been a favorite among the Dragon Ranch visitors. She loves to eat grain out your hand and It's always fun to hear her talking to her mom. As we were out with the animals one day, we noticed that the right side of her jaw and face were severely swollen. She was having a difficult time eating and we quickly became fearful that if the infection continued, she would no longer be able to eat.
It's times like this when the relationship we've build with our animals really becomes important. Lilly trusted Sarah enough to let her get close enough to see that one of her teeth had been broken, probably by biting down on a rock or something, and the resulting infection had allowed hay to become impacted into the socket resulting in the infection. While Preston held Lilly still and Landon spoke softly to her and stroked the top of her head, Sarah was able to remove all the hay and treat Lilly's infection with some anti-bacterial cream. Then, the dilemma became how to wrap gauze around her mouth to allow her to eat but also keep the infection out. Admittedly, you have never seen a patient as odd looking as an Alpaca with gauze wrapped around her head and snout. The amazing thing? Although she hummed to her mom who stood nearby watching over the procedure, Lilly remained calm and let Sarah take care of her.
Following the successful removal of the impacted tooth, Lilly began her journey to recovery. Sarah and Preston checked on her throughout the first night and over the next few days. As you can see in the picture above, Lilly has her adorable smile back and is back to enjoying life on Dragon Ranch with the rest of us.
Comments