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Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
I should have learned by now to never say "I would never do that"! I never thought I'd be swinging boards at two dogs protecting Llama's. Nope not me the city girl who had never even been around Llamas until a few wks prior. Nor would swinging a board at dogs even in my nature as for years I've fostered hundreds of animals whom many were from cruelty seizures.
Let me backtrack a few weeks before the event occurred. My sister had been ill for aprox 2 years and had been diagnosed with various ailments but none of the medications worked. She was becoming more and more tired and as she, like myself also operates an animal sanctuary it was become increasingly difficult for her to keep up with all her chores. Unlike myself, who lives in the heart of the city her property was located in a remote area on top of a mountain surrounded by hundreds of acres of government property. She cared for larger farm animals mainly and also had several cats and three big dogs who all lived together peacefully. Her barnyard was full of sheep, chickens, a rooster and two bonded Llamas. Sadly, the CAT scan my sister had long awaited for showed she had stage 4 cancer and chemo was started right away. At first she drove herself down the mountain for her treatments but by the third one she no longer had the strength nor look after all the animals. I started going up on weekends driving a few hours each way in order to help her. Eventually my mom also stayed there in order to help out but was unable to help with the animals which was okay as I was able to handle it. She also had assistance from various farmers in her area. At first I was extremely nervous around the Llamas as they can be so imposing - large animals that hovered behind my back each time I walked outside. I started getting attached to the sheep as each had their own personality and were quite friendly in search of pats on the head when I arrived. My sister knew she should move closer to town .However, she refused to move into my home or my mom's house as we were unable to take the larger animals. In the meantime I was searching for really good homes in hopes I could convince her . In the meantime, I continued to go up on weekends and eventually stayed days at a time. One morning she called me and said she had a good day and to take a day off as she had done all the chores herself and felt pretty good. She also mentioned she had seen deer in her yard and brought the dogs in as a precaution but they continued to whine as they wanted out. Her dogs included a Rotti, Pitbull and Shepherd who were all really good with the livestock and were gentle with people. Less than 2 hours later, my mother calls and leaves a frantic message on my phone something about men, guns and dogs and all killed. What???? This is Canada we don't carry guns up here!! It would take me at least 2 hours to arrive at her place and my return calls went unanswered . I felt a feeling of dread on my drive to the mountain and even more so when I arrived and there was only silence. Not a single barnyard sound, nor of her dogs barking....just dead silence. I'll continue the story in little while . |
Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
I starting thinking about this story after reading the post written by MagicFish regarding motivation caused by fear and love. In this case both were motivators for me regarding what happened next.
When I arrived at my sisters home I raced into her house and found both my mom and sister had collapsed as a result of what had happened a few hours before. It turns out my sister had over exerted herself and had barely made it into the house after doing the morning chores and went straight to bed. Her dogs continued to whine but she attributed that to the deer in her yard, I should mention that the cancer had taken it's tole on her as she was now 82 pounds and very frail. Except for a few souls she had confided to very few people knew of her condition and she refused to ask for help. She's hard headed and stubborn and has always done things her way. The farming community in her area help their own and she saw first hand had many had come when she did call for help. She had been unable to sleep due to her dogs continued whining and so she checked the security cameras and was faced with a horrific scene. Two large dogs were on her property while the barnyard was littered with her now deceased sheep. She raced out and was able to contain the dogs in an enclosure (imagine 82 pounds and in stage 4 cancer and yet she showed no fear approaching the dogs). It was obvious these dogs were not people aggressive or else she too would have been in mortal danger but sadly only 1 sheep was left alive barely clinging to life. She ran and got a blanket for her and spent almost 2 hours in the downpour waiting for help to arrive. Many came after one call to a friend who in turn called on the others in the valley. It took some time for them to all arrive and help clean up , they also located the dogs owner as they had tags on their collars. Sadly, the last remaining sheep did not make it. The LLama's who would normally never jump a fence had bolted into the hundred of acres behind her home. We didn't know if they too were injured. Normally they would help guard the flock but after viewing footage of the videos (which I have never watched myself) the dogs tag teamed each time they attacked. My sister spent a month in the hospital after the incident while my mom was released a few days later. To be continued..... |
Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
I spent hours in search of the Llamas as I knew it would mean a lot to my sister to find them. The people in the community were made aware they were missing and kept an eye out for them. I received a call from my sister's friend who informed me they were both discovered on a lower field and went to try to retrieve them. First, I had to dismantle part of her fence which was barbed wire on one side and solid panels on the other. The Llamas were not harnessed trained but were motivated by food and shaking their food bucket usually brought them running. I couldn't risk bringing them back down the road up to the driveway as it was that road was popular with people riding ATV's and I was worried the two animals would be spooked. I would have to cut through the forest then onto her property. It was difficult to keep their attention as many times they appeared nervous and ready to bolt back into the forest but eventually I was able to get them back to the barn and attempt to put the fence back up.
My sister was thrilled and knowing her pets were safe seemed to have made a huge difference towards a more positive attitude regarding what she was dealing with. I made arrangements for two of the dogs to be placed with family friends and brought the most senior dog to my own home. I would have brought all of them except I also had several large breed dogs and wasn't sure if they would be willing to share their territory. Her friend who lived on the mountain agreed to care for the animals and visit daily while I would still come on the weekends. It was one one of these visits that the incident occurred. I had been busy cleaning her home, packing boxes and painting her living room in case she needed to sell the home or the worse case scenario which neither of us wanted to discuss. By this time she had been hospitalized for at least 3 weeks with no signs of improvement except for the day I informed her her Llamas and other animals were safe and sound. I was standing on a step ladder painting, music blaring when I noticed her old dog pacing back and forth running to the back door. Climbing down I had my hand on the door handle when I parted the blinds and peeked outside. Those dogs were back and were attacking the Llama! Without thinking I ran outside ( I say without thinking because if I had given myself a moment to think clearer I may have made a different choice). The Llama was screaming (a horrible sound I've never heard before) while the two dogs were leaping at it's throat. Realizing I only had a paint brush in my hand I grabbed a fence panel which was on the ground , stood in front of the Llama and started swinging. Yelling as loud as I could in hopes someone would hear me. My phone never worked at my sisters place but it wouldn't have done me any good and she did not have a house phone. I was on my own fighting off the two dogs. The male was the larger of the two was aprox 150 pounds or more while the female was smaller in stature. They did work as a tag team and kept circling us and while one would attempt to leap at the Llama's throat the other would circle behind. These dogs were bred to take down large game and were determined in their efforts. To be continued.... |
Magnus Eisengrim Inner circle Sulla placed heads on 1053 Posts |
Good grief, Chrystal. You've definitely captured my attention.
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.--Yeats |
Magic_son Regular user 195 Posts |
Wow, after the first time I'm amaze the dogs owners didn't either cage them or put them down. living on a farm Myself, I have never seen when a dog attacks livestock that the dogs can be taught not to go after other livestock. Still, you have my attention too!
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Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
On the edge of my seat here, Chrystal...
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
balducci Loyal user Canada 227 Posts |
Hope everything worked out okay, but I still wonder whether we were supposed to call 911 or something (killer dogs circling and all).
(Having said that, of course, none of us knew where to direct the response team.)
Make America Great Again! - Trump in 2020 ... "We're a capitalistic society. I go into business, I don't make it, I go bankrupt. They're not going to bail me out. I've been on welfare and food stamps. Did anyone help me? No." - Craig T. Nelson, actor.
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Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
Hi Again,
Apologies,I didn't expect to be absent for so long....I'll continue the story where I left off. At first I couldn't bring myself to actually hit the dogs as I was only swinging the board to keep them back from the screaming LLama but after 15 mins (seemed like an eternity) and with no help available I noticed a change in the male dog. The female would back up each time I shouted NO! but the male was starting to get agitated that I was preventing him from getting his prey. Then the fear set in I realized he was now targeting me and not only was no one hearing my screams and I had no cell phone coverage but now I realized I was in danger. The barn was aprox 20 feet from me when the male grabbed the end of the fence post I was swinging and pulled it out of my hands and barred his teeth. A million thoughts went through my mind...I really felt I was going to be torn apart by the dogs. I immediately picked up this huge log and smacked it on top of a fence post which made a loud crackling noise that startled both dogs. The sound resembled a gun shot. The female ran and thankfully the male followed suit. She ended up getting caught on the barb wire where they had both crawled under onto their belly to enter. I lifted it up as I didn't want him to hang around for her but I cut my hands in the process. Searching for the female LLama I saw no signs of her and I feared she may have been badly injured or had escaped by jumping the fence and escaping once again into the woods. I was at a loss of what to do as I could only get help by driving down the mountain but didn't want to leave in case the dogs came back but I had no choice but to go for help. I kept trying my cell phone while driving down the mountain and was unable to get any service. I ended up banging on the door of my sisters friends home with the intention of asking her to call for help. She wasn't home...urg! |
Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
I then see someone stop their vehicle and I quickly explain what happened and can he please contact authorities as I was going back up the mountain. He said he would join me up there when he contacted help.
Okay this is where the story gets really scary as I hadn't realized that this person's father was one of the people that had helped my sister locate the dogs owners the previous time and had the owners number. He took it upon himself to call and proceeded to yell at them that the dogs were back at my sisters farm and that I had been up there alone....(This becomes important later in the story). He then informs others who like members of a small community each calls the other farmers to warn them and then the authorities. I had returned back to the farm in the meantime. The fellow shows up and we both start the search in the mountains for the missing LLama for .A short time goes by, I start to notice his behavior is getting a bit odd and my spidey senses tells me something is a bit off. He was helpful and friendly but I just had a gut feeling something was not right but luckily others show up to join the search. We call it quits after 2 hours and I return back to the farm with only her old dog for protection. In the meantime, the police had shown up at the dog owners home which is empty but show all signs of having been an illegal drug operation. No sign of the people nor the dogs. Oh great now they know I'm there by myself and hopefully they don't come back for revenge I'm thinking. The fellow that called them tipped them off when he yelled at them as they knew the police would be showing up. They also knew I was alone. I tried to lock up the Llama in the barn for the night but he stayed out all night in the rain occasionally letting out moaning noises for the loss of his mate. It broke my heart to see him mourning. I pray she's okay. It is then I notice the fellows jacket by the barn and knew he had returned sometime after everyone left. It makes me extremely uneasy. I make sure the home is secure, stay up the entire night and keep watch. At dawn I return to the mountain and spend a total of 6 hours searching for the female LLama. I found her!!! She was unharmed but extremely nervous. Once again, by shaking food I manage to bring her back to the outskirts of the property. It is then she bolted as I imagine she feared the dogs were there. NO! I just spent hours leading her back down .I race to get the male Llama who senses his mate near by -he lets out what can only be a huge sigh of relief and she comes running. They race towards each other and like something out of a Disney movie they both meet halfway and kiss each other on the lips with loud smacking noises. The only highlight of this horrendous 2 days. I can now tell my sister what has happened. My sisters friend who lives further down the mountain knocks on the door aprox an hour later to check on me says " I just saw cougar poop in the field you'd better be careful" ...... I make arrangements for others to take over and return home. My sister calls me the following day and relays the following information...."you were right about having a sense that something was not quite right with J (the fellow who helped with the search and whose jacket I found) . J has schizophrenia and sadly had not taken his meds which affected his state of mind .He had a psychotic episode later that evening in which he had to be hospitalized. I sympathize with his family and happy to report he's now on the road to recovery. Dogs, cougars, Mountains....while I love nature and all it has to offer...I'm going to stick being a city person. |
Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
Lastly, call it whatever you wish as I mentioned my sister had stage 4 cancer, she was 82 pounds,frail and had just spent a month in the hospital. I had made arrangements to rehome her animals but until I had her blessing to do it I wouldn't go against her wishes. She returned home shortly after the incident, her other dogs were picked up from the kennel and she made arrangements for a host of people to help around the farm.
A week later she returned to the hospital for test......the cancer was gone. The doctor said it was miraculous and arrangements were made for a second opinion and test at yet another hospital. Same results. The cancer is gone. She claims it was the love of her animals that made her determined to return home to care for them. |
Daryl -the other brother Special user Chicago 594 Posts |
That's truly incredible Chrystal !!! Thanks for sharing.
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Dr. Delusion Special user Eugene, Oregon. 733 Posts |
Wow! That was one heck of an adventure. My gosh, what you, your family and the animals went through. You are one tough lady.
Thank you for sharing it with us. I hope they can track down those knuckleheads with the dogs and press charges against them. Bob. |
Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
Thank you Bob and Daryl and to others who commented.
Apologies for the typos as my fingers were flying across the keyboard and I should have spelled check . Here are some things that I should have added to the story: My sister had been unable with keeping the long grass in check around her home and except for the immediate surrounding area around her house ,the grass was aprox 4 ft high. I had noticed several large indentations in the grass near the barn in the mornings. It struck me as odd and I had thought perhaps a bear had slept there. Shaking that thought out of my mind but not completely convincing myself as her dogs were no longer on the property to keep animals from the forest from entering. I realize now it may have been the cougar who was stalking either me, her old dog or the Llamas. I get the shivers thinking of my time in the woods searching as I saw the same impressions in long grasses where I searched. My sister would often check on her property via her phone as she had numerous security cameras . In fact, it caused me to chuckle as when I returned home she often would comment on my trips to the barn or chores I was doing and insist I stop cleaning so much. When I was fighting the two dogs I feared she was watching from her hospital bed and the consequences of what she was about to view would be horrific. That gave me the strength to keep fighting and not allow the two dogs to carry out their intentions. Turns out her internet was off that weekend (my only form of communication with the outside world) and unbeknownst to me at the time so were the lines which relayed info from the security cameras. If they had been working I may have been able to capture the fellow returning that evening and the cougar on the property. Hydro showed up a few days later and had to remove several tall trees which had interfered with the communication system. Overall, bad luck it had happened that particular weekend but fortunate for me that I had not been caught unawares by the cougar when I locked up the barn and coop at dusk or opened them up at dawn. Also fortunate the cougar did not attack the Llama when it remained outside that evening awaiting his mate. The image of him in the pouring rain, head down , emitting moaning sounds broke my heart and made me determined to keep searching for the other Llama in the woods. That and having to tell my sister which I knew would kill her. I also knew the Llama was shy around people with the exception of those she felt familiar with. I knew my chances of finding her were better alone but realize now the cougar may have been stalking us on the mountain. I shudder to think of that too. Overall, the story ended well but I also am saddened to remember when I lifted up the barb wire for the female dog she turned around and licked my hand before she ran away. I don't blame the dogs but I too worry they have been whisked away where they may continue to be a danger to other animals. My sister has now gained 15 pounds and is on the road to recovery. I don't think I'm the tough one ...she is and I'm happy she was able to have a second chance. |
Devious Inner circle 2120 Posts |
I have always had love for you mamas. Besos y Abrazos muchas gracias chica
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magicalaurie Inner circle Ontario, Canada 2962 Posts |
Very glad to hear your sister's condition has dramatically improved, Chrystal! Re. the grass beds: Deer will do that and I think the llamas might, too. My Dad's farm has tall grass/hay like that and the deer love it- beds all over the place.
Take care. |
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