Janice Buttitta -Judge and Update o Bella
Yesterday I was the judge for the alpaca youth show held at the Pima County Fair. It was a lot of fun in which I got to judge showmanship and obstacle course. I was very impressed with the kids and their handling abilities. I was even more impressed when I found out that a lot of the kids had been with alpacas for less than a year. It is quite amazing to watch the alpaca do the jumps and allow the owner to place a hula hoop over it. It just showed us all how much trust the alpaca had in its young, confident owner.
I made it a point to tell the kids what they did right and what areas they needed to improve. I really went out of my way to express to the crowd how the kids should be supported. The parents thanked me afterwards for being so interactive with the kids. From the feedback I received the kids had a great time and are looking forward to doing more shows.
This show was pretty small, so I do hope more kids join in the future. It is a great way to support our future alpaca breeders. Perhaps I will get another chance to judge one of the youth shows again in the future. It was a great time for all.
Bella has found a new home in Northern California with owners, Rick and Cindy Shipley, of Argonaut Farms. Bella will be guarding a herd of alpaca not at all different than what she was doing here at DMAR. Bella turns 5 months old on the 20th of this month.
Rick and Cindy drove into Tucson on Friday night. On Saturday I took Bella to meet them. Bella did great in the car and was quite a mush when she met her new family. I’m sure she was a bit nervous and shy, but in no time she will show her confident self.
Rick and Cindy appear to be a very good family for Bella. I am confident that they will dote love and attention to her and vice versa. Bella will have an older pyrenees dog to befriend on their return. I’m sure she will be excited.
For now we are out of puppies. We hope to have our next litter between Gianna and Santino in the summer of 2010. Of course this will all depend on how our current relocation goes. I’ll keep everyone informed as we go along.
