Where Did My Alpacas Go?

A story about an LGD moving across country

Note: An LGD is a Livestock Guardian Dog), for more info see LGD

We got Thor as an 11-week old puppy from a working goat ranch in South Central Washington. His parents, grandparents, and siblings all working dogs, protecting their herds of sheep, goats and other livestock. Over the past 7 years, Thor was never allowed in the house. He has his own place in the barn for eating and sleeping, although he is usually outside with the alpacas, and sometimes in one of their run-in shelters if the weather is bad. He has access to seven of the alpaca paddocks thru a cut-out in each fence for him to get thru.

In October 2010 everything changed! We were moving from Idaho to Kentucky to our new home. On October 12th the transporter arrived to pick up all 23 alpacas, which were sectioned off with the boys in the front and the girls in the back of the trailer. The transporter pulled out l mid afternoon, leaving Thor wondering where they all went.

He meandered in and out of the barn, and each paddock only to find them empty. We spent extra time with him, playing with his Kong Toy, reassuring him we would all be together again soon.

As the household packing was nearly done, we were eating dinner out in the evenings. Friends invited us to their house one evening, so we fed Thor, then came home a few hours later and gave him a treat. The next day as we went in and out of the house packing up the trailer we could see Thor clearly didn't understand what was happening. Several days had gone by, and the alpacas hadn't come home. Where were they? He quickly became somewhat depressed and lethargic, so we made certain to give him 'extra' attention throughout the day.

Two days before our scheduled departure, we again went out to dinner, but when we returned home Thor didn't come to the fence to greet us as was his normal routine. "Thor!" we called. But he didn't appear. We started looking in all the paddocks, calling his name and checking the other run-ins. All the gates were locked as we had left them, but Thor was not inside.

We quickly called the neighbors. They hadn't seen him. Ron jumped in the pick-up to drive along the roadways looking for him, as did our neighbors. I took a big flashlight back out to the paddocks and kept calling for Thor, but he was gone. He went to find his alpacas!

Finally exhausted, we gave up looking for the night. It was midnight and all we could do was wait and hope he would come home. Before going back inside I left the main gate to the barn open, just in case Thor came home to his own bed.

After a restless night, tormented by thoughts of leaving without Thor, I got up the next morning to make the coffee. The kitchen window looked out over the barn and paddocks that now seemed even more empty, and void of life. I noticed that the gate I'd left open was not in the same position I'd left it in, but surmised that the wind had blown it askew. With my coffee cup in hand, I went to the living room window to look out over the huge hayfield across our driveway to see if there was any sign of that big white dog named Thor. As I looked out towards the road I was totally shocked to see him trotting towards the house! I opened the front door, and he raced to greet me!

Ron and I were so relieved! We found where he had dug out under the chain-link fence later that day, and decided that we'd keep him in the house or tethered outside with us. After all, the four-day cross-country trip meant he'd be sleeping in hotel rooms with us, and we didn't know how he'd react not only to the confinement, but the subtle noises he was not accustomed to.

It was now Friday night, the house was empty, and we planned to pull out early the next morning which meant we went to a hotel for the night, Thor with us! Amazingly, he did quite well! He slept near the bed where we left an old sweatshirt for him to lay on.

Our four-day drive was uneventful, and Thor was the perfect gentleman during our stops at the rest areas and in the hotels. He was never off the leash, and adapted well to this new concept.

We arrived in Springfield Tuesday evening, and Thor was glad to find his alpacas already content in their new surroundings. BUT! The fencing is black-rail! The ground soft, unlike the rock bed of the prairie in Idaho, and Thor quickly figured out how to dig underneath to go join Ron at the barn if he wanted to. Mesh fencing was quickly installed around the paddocks!

The first few weeks in Springfield we took Thor with us in the pick-up if we were leaving the farm for grocery shopping etc. as he had bonded with us and the pick-up during the trip. As Thor re-bonded with the alpacas and has settled in to his new home with his alpacas. He doesn't worry now that the pick-up will leave him behind! His alpacas have been found! He is once again a happy LGD!

© Judi Hoaglund
February, 17, 2011
All Rights Reserved

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