Please also see our other blog at

http://nywildliferescue.blogspot.com/

It is more active than this one. Always check there for updates, too.



Northeast Llama Rescue was started by Wes and Darcy Laraway of Middleburgh, NY.

Several years ago they rescued their first llama out of a tiny horse pen. Since that day, Northeast Llama Rescue has helped dozens of Camelids from several different states.
The primary mission of Northeast Llama Rescue is to educate owners on how to properly care for their animals.

We also offer assistance with a traveling chute to shear, worm, and trim toenails on hard to handle animals. A 'TRUE REPUTABLE BREEDER" should help out the llama down the road that is not being cared for by owners that understand the needs of llamas.

If you know of a llama owner who is no longer able to care for their animals, there is help available. Members of Northeast Llama Rescue will adopt any unwanted animals. Rescue animals will be relocated to farms of members for training and necessary vet work.

If a llama is able to be rehabilitated, he will be available after a careful screening process. All rescues are placed in homes with a contract that says they shall be provided for and can not be sold. In the event a rescue animal becomes unwanted, the llama MUST be returned to Northeast Llama Rescue.

If you share our philosophy and love for the animals, you are more than welcome to join us! There are lots of llamas that need a person to love.

We also rescue farm animals, and are licensed wildlife rehabilitators.

This site is copyrighted by Wes Laraway.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Weekend Update

Been busy since the last time that I blogged. Chris and I have been working nights after school on the Raptor (Hawk, Owl and Falcon) Enclosures. We have made a lot of progress. I am kind of sleep deprived. My baby 'coons are not sleeping through the night yet but I am getting good at giving them their bottles in my sleep.

Friday I took a personal day from school to go to the circus with my daughter Emma's class from school. I got to walk all of the boys in her class to the bathroom before we left for the Pepsi Arena. As a high school teacher, I am not used to the walking in line trick. As they all got out of the bathroom they got in line and I thought it would be cool to teach them how to walk like Elephants back to the classroom ... what an entrance.

The kids were great the entire day, I was impressed. I haven't been to the circus since I was a kid. I know that a lot of circus shows have a bad rap right now but I was really impressed at the Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey Circus production. The horses, dogs and goats looked great. The Elephants looked great and the tigers were what I was waiting for. The actually set up the tiger act during the intermission. I was 50 foot away and watched it all. Very professional, very well done and the tigers were fat and into the routine. I am not giving my endorsement to animal acts, but I didn't see anything that I didn't like and I was looking.

On Saturday, my day started with my 4:30 am wake-up call from the 'coons. Gayle and I got to do something that all wildlife rehabbers love; we went on a release to one of my favorite release sites. We took John and Donna with us, they are the folks that brought us the raccoon that we rehabbed overwinter. I also released the red fox that was brought to me in a trunk of a car one night after the ladies picked him out of the road. Gayle took some great photos of the release which she will add to my blog so you can see what it looked like. Gayle is invaluable to NY Wildlife Rescue Center and getting our message out to you on the web. (Thanks Gayle)

FoxRelease-0


RaccoonRelease-1


Or you can view the entire photo album here


When we got back to the facility it was a zoo as usual. I had Justin and Shep show up to volunteer to work on the Raptor Center ceiling. Gayle and I got some photos of the Mammal area, the construction of the Raptor enclosures and of course--the animals.

RaptorCages-1

We worked all day on the ceiling (100 foot) and finished it by 11pm. Got a couple of the walls framed out as well. I was thinking that things were going too well and the phone rang. Latham Emergency Vet Clinic had a Redtailed hawk and 7 baby cottontail rabbits that someone had brought in that they wanted me to come and get. While John and Justin worked on framing, I drove the 2 hours to get the animals from Latham. They had everything packaged up and waiting for me, they had done an xray on the hawk for me which showed nothing broken. They donated their services and that is something that every wildlife rehabber appreciates. When we volunteer our time, spend thousands of hours doing what we do, spend huge amounts of our own money, everything--donated helps keep us going.

Got back from the Vet Clinic, finished up with construction clean up and called it a night at 1:30. Didn't hear the alarm in the office go off at 4:30 am but the raccoons did. Glad they got me up because my wife Darcy didn't hear the alarm in the house either. I woke my son Jacob up because Darcy had to run him to the airport at 5am; the lucky kid gets to go to Florida with his Uncle Scott and his Grandparents to see the last launching of the space shuttle tomorrow to fix the Hubble telescope. Little bum is probably swimming right now as I write this.

I called off construction on the Raptor Center today to do the Mothers Day thing. Chris and Michele finished framing out the back walls that we didn't get done last night today. I took Darcy and the girls to the Diner for breakfast once I got a.m. chores done. Then we went on the annual pilgrimage to Guernseys Nursery to buy trees.

I also bought two grape plants to grow up the bobcat and fox enclosures. Once it gets growing I think that it will give great shade and will look cool on the caging. Then we went to Barbers to get some perennials "to feed the damn chickens" as my wife says.

I didn't feel like mowing the lawn with the hour (that I found to myself ) after getting everything planted so my daughter Hannah and I dug out the wisteria that was taking over our house deck and I transplanted that out near the bear enclosure (hope it survives the transplant). Then we planted 25 small spruce tree seedlings around the bear enclosure and the mammal area for a windbreak and more privacy for the animals. It will look great in a couple of years; I've basically planted a forest around the enclosures.

I managed to get my work-boots off and thought that it was amazing that everyone was going to make it to the dinner table at the same time and the phone rang. One of my students from school called. A deer had gotten hit near his house last night. They knew that it was alive and in the ditch--he wondered what I could do. We got the deer moved back to our facility, it is banged up pretty good and is in shock but stands a chance now since it is here.

Gotta go feed some critters and attempt to get to bed by midnight.

Hey Mom, Happy Mothers Day! Sorry I didn't see you; hope you liked your tree.

Wes



RaccoonBabies-0

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Northeast Llama Rescue by Wes Laraway

The Northeast Llama Rescue was started by Wes and Darcy Laraway several years ago after they rescued their first llama out of a tiny horse pen. Since that day, the Northeast Llama Rescue has helped dozens of animals in 5 states. The primary mission of Northeast Llama Rescue is to educate owners on how to care for their animals properly. We also offer assistance with a traveling chute to shear, worm and trim toenails on hard to handle animals. If owners get "tired" of the daily maintenance of their herds, members of the Northeast Llama Rescue will adopt or buy, if possible, any unwanted animals. Rescue animals go to the farms or members of the organization.

The Northeast Llama Rescue does not wish to compete with other rescue organizations, although any llama or alpaca is welcome. We need to cooperate to help ALL camelids, not just registered or "nice-looking" ones. Everyone has the right to breed and sell llamas, but a true reputable breeder will "help out" the llama down the road that is not being cared for, regardless of its age, sex or conformation.

Our last rescue came from Central New York. A farm had purchased 9 animals from a Midwest auction. Four of the animals had died from natural causes....starvation? The owner had health problems and no longer wanted the animals. After several other concerned people failed to negotiate their sale, I eventually called and within five minutes we had agreed on a price and the deal was done. The next night, Wes Laraway, Kim Scheurerman and P.J. Wagner went to pick up the animals. The owner informed us that the llamas were wild and could not be handled. Within five minutes all were calmly caught, on lead ropes and in the trailer, with us using a wand and some TEAM Training techniques. The owner thought I was the "llama whisperer" because I got those llamas to do things in five minutes that she couldn't do in a year. She unfortunately knew nothing about handling llamas.

Three hours later, we were back into quarantine at Red Maple Farm starting "damage control". The animals were immediately wormed, fed fresh hay and grain, and watered. All were body scored under three by sight and by feeling through their wool. This hands-on inspection revealed barbed wire that needed to be cut out of the fiber. We decided NOT to shear because it was too late in the year and they were too thin.

Another concern was an ingrown halter. One of the best ways to remove ingrown halters is to undo the buckle(s) and cut the nose band with sharp toenail clippers on each side of the nose. Then gradually, over time, the remaining pieces will fall out. With application of an antibiotic cream, any wounds from the ingrown halter will heal quickly. In this particular case, the halter came out of the nose and was added to the "wall of shame" in our barn (along with the barbed wire and ear tags still on them from the auction they were purchased from). The blood stream stopped within fifteen minutes and now, after a month, we can tell that scarring will be minimal. Please tell everyone you know that owns camelids, NEVER leave a halter on a llama! Even in a week, with wet conditions, a halter can embed itself in a llama's nose.

My biggest concern was the 10 month old female that was exposed to her father. If bred, we decided to abort the unborn cria for the safety and well-being of the young female. None of these five animals were over the age of three years. All of them, over the following months, would need intense care and proper nutrition. The animals were all updated on health requirements and gelded. All of these animals would need training before they could go up for adoption.

New problems continuously arose. Two weeks after they arrived, one of the females surprised us with a weak, constipated fourteen pound male cria. Within hours I knew it wasn't "normal" so mom and baby were moved to a quarantine pen in the barn. The decision was made to supplement the cria with goat colostrum and give him an enema. Although the cria was walking, he continued to strain to relieve himself. Around the clock surveillance did not reveal any nursing or defecation. At two days old, I found very small maggots between the cria's toes and by his umbilical cord. After consulting my vet again, the cria got a bath and dried out in the heated office before going back to mom in the barn. My vet explained that crias born on rainy days must be completely dry or flies will lay eggs in moist areas of umbilical fluid. I've never heard of this problem before but I know now to check my newborn crias for maggots every day. After five days of constant care, we lost "Trooper"....I guess it was not meant to be, but we tried.

The rest of the animals are doing well today. Concerned individuals found them, bought them and will protect them. Today is actually a special day, because the vet did fecals on them and all five of them are parasite free and can join our llama herd. After training and further rehabilitation, by Spring 2001 this group of animals will be available for adoption to carefully approved homes. All animals sold or placed by Northeast Llama Rescue will be adopted with a legal contract. The contract states that if the llama ever becomes unwanted or is not cared for properly, the animal will return to Red Maple Farm for a full refund. I used to think I could save every unwanted llama in the world...I know that I can't . It is too great an undertaking for one farm to rescue all the unwanted camelids out there. For this reason, several other farms have joined in the effort with Red Maple Farm to pool resources and save neglected and unwanted camelids.

Any farm that shares our philosophy that every llama deserves a life with proper care is welcome to join us. We are people who genuinely love all llamas and want to make a difference one llama at a time. Eventually we will print an educational brochure to hand out at events with member farms listed. Don't just tell people that you love your llamas; show people by making a difference and actually save one. Always quarantine new animals for at least one month while getting wormings, vaccines and nutritional needs in order. Always do a fecal exam and consult your vet about when new animals should go out with the herd. Geld all males and most of all BE PATIENT. Llamas are very forgiving animals and will learn to love and trust again with gentle care and training.