FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CAESAR, THE NO-DRAMA LLAMA
The protests in Portland, Ore., have been calmer recently, but even during the intensity of the unrest, there were pockets of calm around Caesar Mccool. He is a retired six-year-old Argentine grand champion show llama that now works as a therapy animal.
1 WHO’S NEXT?
People line up for emotional-support hugs at protests and other places, and melt in Caesar’s calm presence, said his caretaker, Larry Mccool. “I don’t care how big, how intense that somebody is — he will come up and give Caesar a big hug,” said Mccool, 66. The pair was at a Portland protest last month when violence broke out in the distance, with shouting and flash bombs. When protesters later saw the llama, they stopped to pet his soft wool. “They’ll be clapping, chanting, stomping, and the next thing I know, everyone will band around Caesar,” Mccool said.
2 CHILLIN’ BOTH SIDES
During a large protest, he and Caesar ambled by nearby Portland police officers. They pet Caesar and asked to take photos, Mccool said. The same thing happened at Oregon’s Women’s March. “Caesar defuses tension within extremely volatile situations,” Mccool said. They’ve attended more than 50 civil and environmental marches.
3 SAFETY FIRST
Mccool says he’s never felt in danger. “I will remove Caesar before anything could become dangerous,” Mccool says. At a march in Portland, leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement came up to them, concerned about Caesar, to make sure he was doing OK. “Everyone is looking out for our best interests as much as we’re there for them,” Mccool said. “We don’t want to detract from anything … (or) lessen the magnitude of the BLM movement. We recognize how important it is.”
4 LLAMA SEES GRANDMA
The pair also visits retirement-home residents outside their windows. Before the pandemic, they went to schools, malls and visited foster children and special-needs people.
5 VOLUNTEER BASIS, BUT
Sometimes Mccool accepts donations to offset transportation and other costs. “Caesar has his own trailer behind my truck, with two inches of foam padding. He doesn’t rough it — he’s a pretty pampered llama.”