Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

Alpacas Al Fredo and Al Pacino

From Edgar's Mission
August 2023

Of the Huacaya (pronounced wah-ki-ya) breed, their unkempt and unshorn fleece has ballooned to such a burdensome extent that when sitting in the field, they looked more like lichen-covered boulders. But then they move and morph into multi-coloured cumulus clouds migrating across the plane.

Known for their keen vigilance over their charges, alpacas have become popular guard animals amongst flocks of sheep and even chickens in Australia.

These once-natives of South America are kept too for their soft, silky and greaseless fleece, along with their oh-so-cute faces. Yet sitting beneath the surface of all of this is a gentle and sentient being, an animal whose care our kind has been less than vigilant about. For forgetting just who they are, and replacing this with what we can get from them, has been the lot of many of these gentle animals.

So forgotten had they become, their status was classed as abandoned and they were seized by the RSPCA

Al Fredo, Al Pacino and a third group member who never made it to sanctuary, are among that number.

So forgotten had they become, their status was classed as abandoned and they were seized by the RSPCA before being surrendered into our care and kindness. Of the Huacaya (pronounced wah-ki-ya) breed, their unkempt and unshorn fleece has ballooned to such a burdensome extent that when sitting in the field, they looked more like lichen-covered boulders. But then they move and morph into multi-coloured cumulus clouds migrating across the plane.

That Al Fredo and Al Pacino were so neglected, for whatever reason, is a potent reminder to us all that, regardless of how busy our life gets, the well-being of the animals in our care is something we should all be vigilant about.t

---

Posted on All-Creatures.org: August 17, 2024
Return to: Animal Stories