Photo Worth A Million Bucks

I know we all must have heard Paris Hilton would not eat while she was in custody. Why? Because she was afraid someone would snap a photo of her on the potty. Well, you saw it here first! An actual, untouched, original photo of Paris Hilton going potty on Sunday, July 22, 2007 at All American Alpacas in Murrieta, CA. Sorry, this photo is not for sale at any price.... ;)

Another great day at the ranch. Blade and Fred got to hang out with some pretty girls and I believe a good time was had by all. The weather was beautiful...a little overcast with a nice breeze. Perfect for breeding.

I've talked about buying Meg Ryan, and I will be very soon. She needs to be registered first. In order to register an Alpaca, one must submit a blood sample for DNA testing. This determines that the sire and dam are truly the sire and dam. When they are first born, the vet takes a sample of blood from their neck which is used for IGg testing and the DNA sample. In adult Alpacas, the blood is drawn from a vein under the tail. Ouch! Bless Rick's heart...he decided to draw the blood from Meg while I was there Saturday. She needed to be put in the "chute" (a large contraption that totally immobilizes the Alpaca, yet it doesn't appear to be too uncomfortable). Yet, I'm sure it's pretty scarey for the Alpaca, even if it doesn't hurt. I kept trying to soothe Meg telling her what a good girl she was, and it would be over soon. Duh! Rick reminded me. She's deaf. Oh well, hopefully she picked up my "vibes". It didn't take long for Rick to get the drop of blood he needed for the DNA card. He untied Meg and she went right back to the nursery and continued eating. I'm glad she didn't seem to be phased much by the experience.

I went out to the fields to see all the crias. It is so cool to see so many little ones running around again. There weren't too many in January and February. But boy, there is a gaggle of them now! All shapes, sizes, colors and personalities. Sweety is still the trouble maker, and she seems to have a special fondness for the newest boy "Patron Gold". Yes, he's the little guy that was born last Sunday and Rick needed to give him Caro syrup, then Colostrum, then plasma, then bottle feeding...He's stronger now, nursing, and getting lessons from Sweety on how to be a trouble maker. Merlin's Majik is looking more and more spectacular every day. Vanilla Sundae seems to enjoy being in the center field with youngsters. Probably because she is one of the oldest in that field (a whopping year old now), which must give her some clout :)

Earlier in the day, I had gone down to Boy's Town to visit with the boys, and see my ALPHA and Felix. What a difference in Felix! Last weekend he was a love bug and I was so happy to think my ol' Felix was back. He did the same thing today. He was loving and easy to halter and walk all over the ranch. ALPHA is amazing too. With just a touch to the front of his neck, he stands and let's you put on his halter. Or, you can touch his neck and he'll stand perfectly still and let Rick check his fiber. I am so proud of both of them. They seem to have bonded very nicely and get along very well. Rick decided to give them a real experience and we walked them outside the fence line and down the open road. They were super. We still don't know what is going to happen with the spots that have appeared on ALPHA's blanket. They definately go to the skin (silver?) and look like they are widening ever so slightly. The next several months should be interesting.

Next Saturday, Rick is picking up some Alpacas and bringing them to his ranch. He said he'd leave the trailer hooked up, so we can let Felix and ALPHA experience a trailer. They both need to get used to it, as ALPHA will be going to shows and Felix will be visiting nursing homes and walking in parades. I wonder if it is going to be as hard to get them used to a trailer as it will be for me to get used to pulling a trailer.

I got to help with treats today. Yep, Princess didn't let me down. She ate from my hand. No, the youngsters wouldn't. I did sneak a feel of Percy's neck and back when she was looking the other way. Soft!!!!