Iskay the llama loves taking a dip in the swimming pool.
Our inquisitive critter never wanted to miss out on fun around the farm.
Living on a 100-acre farm in the White Mountains, we have our share of predators. After a black bear broke into our chicken coop for the second time, we decided to get a llama as a livestock guardian. We found an ad for llamas at a nearby goat farm. We took two males—a young all-black llama that we called KoKo, and an older black-and-white one that we named Iskay. Almost immediately we had problems with Iskay. He had zero respect for electric fencing. No matter what we did to keep him in, we’d turn around and he’d be out. And he was just plain nosy. When somebody drove into the yard, he was the first to check them out. Between having a farm and a small business, we don’t get a lot of time off for vacations. So we decided to install a pool. As if on cue, when the contractor arrived to begin work, so did Iskay. I lured him away with grain and closed him in the barn. But when I got home from work, there was our curious llama, lying right in front of the contractor. I apologized for his behavior, but the contractor said he was getting a kick out of Iskay “working” with him. Around July Fourth, the pool was in and the water chemistry was perfect. We invited friends over to enjoy the new pool with us. All day Iskay was on top of us. Our amused guests took a lot of selfies with the curious llama. But in the afternoon, I noticed Iskay was a little too focused on the pool. I walked to the barn to get some grain in hopes that I could lure him away. As soon as I scooped the grain, I heard a commotion up by the pool. The llama had jumped into the water! As I watched in disbelief, Iskay swam in circles around my new pool, the dirt from his coat clouding the water. We tried luring him out, but he couldn’t negotiate the stairs. We finally got a halter and lead rope on him, my daughter and my husband got a towel under him, and with some lifting and pulling we got the llama out of the pool! It took two days to clean the water after that. We had Iskay in our lives for 20 years; there were certainly a lot of exasperating moments, but there were twice as many times when he made us laugh.