Veterinarians

Hi All!

I usually don't like airing my troubles but I hope you all will understand and maybe have some idea that I haven't thought of already.

O.K. here goes.......I DON'T HAVE A VET. THAT WILL COME TO MY FARM.

I do have 2 wonderful vets, 1 in New York (Dr. Grant Seaman) and Dr. Bob Fetter man (here in PA), they both are very knowledgeable of Alpacas . and very caring also, sounds like NO PROBLEM right, WRONG.

Dr. Seaman's practice is in Canisteo, New York approx.35 min. from us. Sounds good right...wrong. He can not come to our farm because he is not licensed in PA. So we take our beloved Alpacas to him if need be.

DR. Bob Fetterman's practice is in East Smithfield,PA approx. 1hr. & 40 min.from our farm. If we are going to show an alpaca & we need PA health certificate papers or something that is not life threatening we take our alpacas to him. By now you see what the problem is ....DISTANCE! It's to far for Dr. Bob to come here.

I'm so concerned, God Forbid, if I have an alpaca that is having a problem giving birth or one that is down & I can't get it up I DON'T HAVE A VET. THAT WILL COME TO MY FARM!

I have tried every Vet. in our area that takes care of large animals but none will take care of Alpacas.

Today my hubby saw a Vet. that has her own mobile farm truck & her practice is only 15 min. tops from us.When he asked if she would be interested in taking care of our Alpacas, her reply was a very quick NO and she finished with "If they aren't black & white and don't moo" she won't take care of them. I know that was not completely true because she takes care of my neighbors horses which is only 2 min. from our farm.

By the Grace of God, we haven't had anything such as I described earlier but it would be great if I had a Vet. that would come to our farm if we were in a situation that we could not handle, like a prolapsed uterus, inverted cria in the womb, or an Alpaca that is so ill that it needs attention NOW.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest, if you can think of anything else that I haven't PLEASE feel free to let me know.

In Christ Our Savior Love

Bonnie

P.S. -- Cornell University Hospital is approx. 3 hrs. from our farm also. :-(

Snow Time

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to drop you all a line to say "Thank You" for being followers of Heaven's Gate Alpacas! I wish you all could come and spend sometime with these wonderful Alpacas. Believe me, there is never a dull moment.They are having a ball now that the snow is here. From pronking to Rolling in it.

I thought you might enjoy some pictures of Shiprah ( the black one) & Lazurus (Cha Ching) playin tag in the snow. As you can see his fleece is growing back just fine now. Hope you like the pictures.

God Bless,

Bonnie & "the pacas"

Are you looking for a Knight in Shining Armor?

That is for your maiden or seasoned female . . . ? Well, then no need to look any farther. We have a gorgeous dark silver gray male that would be the perfect addition to your bloodlines on your farm, too. Check out more information on Dark Knight Templar's page at AlpacaNation or contact Leonard and Bonnie from there.



We are booking dates and times now for May. Get your maiden a sweet Valentine deal today!

Empire's Photo Contest Submission

Well, although we didn't win, I just wanted to share with you some photos that Kelly shot and submitted for the Empire Photo Contest last month. Even though they didn't get an honorable mention, we are very proud of them . . .

The caption for this one was "Alpaca See . . . Alpaca Doo."

Lazarus was only a few days old, and after following mom across the field she stopped and showed him what he was supposed to do near "the pile"

(at first I thought if only they had wings they looked like they were ready for take off).

This one was called "Precious and Few (are the moments)," and it had been printed out in black and white for the contest. Cody had sat down by Amber in the field and was talking to her when she put her head over almost on his shoulder like she was wanting a hug. She is such a sweet gal, you can't help but love her!!

This one is my all time favorite! It was named "A Mother's Love."

It is another picture of Serena and Lazarus (the cuter end).

So . . . leave us a comment and let us know what YOU think of them.

Our DSG, Dark Knight's Templar, took 2nd place!

Well, the competition was tough again at the Empire Alpaca Extravaganza. We took 3 alpacas this time, Templar, Neveah and Noah. Templar did very well and came home with a second place ribbon (the judge said the alpaca above him in first place had fleece just a little brighter and finer than Templar so we feel pretty good about that).

We also showed him in the Herdsire Showcase and are hoping other farms see the wonderful dark silver grey (DSG) potential that his blood line could produce in their crias too. He is a definite night in shining armor on our farm.

Templar has started breeding, and we are really looking forward to seeing his first cria late May or early June 2010.

Western New York Alpaca Show and Praise!!

We have lots of photos and ribbons from the Western New York Alpaca Show, but I have limited time the next couple of days, so hang in there to see more!!

Here is HGA Noah's photo with his blue ribbon, his handler Cody and one of his owners Bonnie.

Here is Dark Knight's Jumpin Jehoshaphat and his handler, Cody, received a third place ribbon
(The color is wrong on the ribbon though in case you were wondering).

We also want to thank you ALL for your wonderful prayers! Lazarus started nursing from his mama, Serena, over the weekend, and he seems to be doing much better. He lost a little weight at first, but the last couple of days, he has remained steady now. Praise the Lord!! :D

Here he is . . .

Our new boy on the farm . . .

Serena finally gave birth Tuesday morning to this little sweetie. We decided to name his Alonzo's Lazarus. Please say a little prayer for our little one though, as he hasn't been nursing from his mama and we are getting ready to go to the alpaca show in Cuba, New York. Bonnie has been bottle feeding him, and unfortunately Leonard will have to take over that job if little Lazarus doesn't soon get the hang of his "mama" has the goods. :)

Thanks for all your well wishes,