Hey there! Hope you guys are settled into your new place. Just wanted to send this photo of Hap and the girls waiting their turn for the sprinkler. Hap is always smiling. She is awesome. We love her so much. As you can see she gets along with the alpacas. Sometimes I think she believes she is an alpaca. She will eat their food and loves a bite of alfalfa.
A proud owner
Tammy West
Alpacas Re’al
I just love getting these emails. Makes me feel like my dogs are doing their jobs and being loved right back. This was a great email and a great start to my day! Hap is approximately 10 months old in this picture.
We have more pups for sale out of Gianna and Santino. They will be ready by the beginning of November 2010.
Maremma on the job:
I received this email from one of my maremma clients, Greeta Mills and wanted to share it with you all:
Hi Janice,
I’ll get a new picture sent your way. I really love Tessa. Last Friday night, she was barking, barking, barking! I went out to check on things since the other dogs weren’t barking. Like a real smart one, I went out without a flashlight, got over near her, and heard a rattler. I sprinted to the house for a flashlight and a shovel. Once I killed the snake, Tessa got a special treat, and I had a good night! 
Greeta
Great job Tessa! Tessa is currently 7 months old and is already proving to be an amazing guard dog. Tessa guards goats in Maricopa.
I can’t tell you how many times my maremmas have gone crazy barking. They alert me to visitors to the ranch or to the roaming coyote. Of course, there are times when Bianca barks at a june bug flying a little to close to her, but that is just Bianca. When all dogs bark is when I know I need to go investigate. Thanks to the maremmas I know my alpacas are safe.
DMAR Update for Week Ending 6-27-09:
DMAR Site Under Attack: Well a few things have been going on. For starters my blog was hacked into and a malicious code was added to my scripts which began attacking other sites. My web host shut me down advising that I was in violation of subscription term. Not knowing what this meant I called them and was told of the issue.
Since I am the designer, writer, and overall maker of my website I was left totally perplexed as to how to clean it up. My host provider sent some information on what might help, but basically I was told to clean up my scripts. I tried to do this, but to be honest it was so over my head.
After a week of having my site down I got online and went to elance. This is a site where you can hire a freelancer in areas of computer programming, website design, administration, etc.. I posted my job and a couple of days later I hired a person in Romania. Within a couple of days my site was up and he even upgraded me to the newest version of WordPress, which is my blog. I couldn’t be happier and what’s best is that I was able to talk him down to my current budget. What a great experience for a terrible problem!
Michelle Rose Update: I haven’t been able to give any updates lately, but Michelle has lost about 5 pounds in about 2 1/2 weeks time. She now weighs 140 lbs. I would be really concerned, but she is so alert and active that I am not terribly worried. This is the best she’s looked in a long time.
I’m not sure if I mentioned about her swollen lymph nodes. When the vet first felt them she was not optimistic at all on Michelle’s outcome. She sent me home with instructions to give antibotics of Naxcel as well as Doxycycline for 10 days. Today I took Michelle back to the vet for her blood draw and the doctor was happy to say that she believed the lymph nodes under the chin had shrunk in size. They are still swollen, but slightly smaller. Overall she thought Michelle looked good and sent us on our way home. I’ll find out the blood test results tomorrow to see if her white cell count has come down. At one time the doctor thought it might be cancer in the lymph nodes, but after speaking with a blood specialist they concluded her lymph nodes were so swollen due to the valley fever.
Finally I believe that even the vet sees a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. I keep praying for Michelle and tell her I love her daily. Do you think that helps?
Testimonial: A couple of weeks ago I had a ranch visit from two sisters that drove approx. 4 hours from Phoenix to see my alpacas. She wanted to learn more about alpacas since she wanted to get some when she retired in the next couple of years. During her visit she mentioned at how pleasantly surprised she was at the information we provided as well as our hospitality. She mentioned that she had gone to another ranch where her visit didn’t last even 30 minutes and she had left deflated. She felt renewed and looked forward to learning more.
A few days later we received this email from our visitor and she has given me permission to share it with you all:
“Hi Tom and Janice, Once again I would like to thank you for your wonderful hospitality on Saturday. My sister Nancy and I had a very enlightened and educational experience. You really went above and beyond anything we had expected. On our drive home she commented about how this would be “right up my alley”. Our visit has given me a renewed incentive to start looking for property and start making plans for my own ranch.”
Let Tom and I renew your interest in alpacas too. Simply call us at 520-803-9569 or email us at info@desertmtnalpacas.com to schedule your ranch visit.
2009 Estes Park Wool Market Alpaca Fleece Show:
This year I placed two fleeces into this show. It was RK and Dominique. Here is how they placed:
DMAR Royal Knight – 1st and Reserve Color Champ
DMAR Dominique – 3rd Place
