Casey

     Meet Casey.

    

     Actually his names is Cassius, but it's well known I'm too lazy to pronounce that long of a name to call him for dinner, so his barn name is Casey.

     Casey is a wee Suri alpaca. You can tell this from the wet-mop look. I have a personal major soft spot for suris, plus the already well known 6-mile soft spot for sickly needy creatures. So Casey was an impossibility amongst my softness.

     He arrived with a major runny nose and diarrhea, so I didn't immediately turn him out. He stayed in a stall were he could see everyone, and the goats where in the next stall over. This didn't seem to phase him a bit, he built a nest for himself in the straw in the corner of the barn and buried his nose in hay. He keeps tabs on the world from this spot, he watches "Days of Our Alpacas" through the stall wall.

     The goats immediately surveyed the newcomer through their stall wall. There was a brief discussion in which the boys voted to ignore him because he was tiny. Zecilly, who is my old mama goat (who also harbors a 6-mile soft spot for sickly things) considered him and then ruled that diminutive though he is, he's also young and will likely grow into something large that will then share his food. It was discussed, the votes were casts, and Casey was made an honorary goat.

     Whether this was done because Zec thought he was cute and was selling it to the boys, or because they recognized in him a genuinely sweet and all-around gullible guy, I don't know. Either way, Casey is a goat.

     Casey is quite delighted to be a goat. I have spent much time trying to convince him to be an alpaca, and he really does love Snap and Andy, but he is also a very happy goat. He has made it perfectly clear, via stamping his tiny feet and giving me the most pitifullest "hhuuummmmmm"s that you have ever heard, that he wants to be with his goats. So despite my prodding, Casey sleeps in the stall with the goats at night, cuddled down in his nest in the corner, face in a flake of hay, contentedly watching the other alpacas outside. Such is the rough life of a 10-month old, 44 lb. suri alpaca-goat.

     To my delight though, Snap has also adopted Casey. If Zec is his new momma, Snap is dad. He is out all day with Snap, who watches over him, eats with him, makes sure everyone is nice to him, and even sleeps with goats so Casey can be with his whole family. Snap is an alpaca saint (and again with the 6-mile soft spot). I couldn't be prouder of that big boy if I tried.

     And yes, that is actually a picture of Cody. :)