11 Feb Wed 2009
Saving the Energizer Bennie
Years ago, I was caring for an adorable, little cria named Bennie. Bennie kept getting sick, and against all odds, he kept getting better. He had pneumonia several times, many IV’s and even TPN (total protein nutrition IV). On 3 different occasions I kissed Bennie goodnight and goodbye, only to return again the next morning to see him alive and well, there. This lead to his nickname, the Energizer Bennie. He kept going, and going, and going, and going,…….
One day the nationally renowned veterinarian (NRV) with whom we were consulting, told me that I needed to do a transfaunation with Bennie. This meant that I was supposed to go and get rumen (stomach juices) from another animal and put them into Bennie’s stomach. Ooookaaay.
So I asked NRV where I was supposed to get this donation rumen. He wasn’t sure. Hmm. Goats were considered. My vet said he wouldn’t work for me anymore if I bought a goat. (No offense goat lovers, just that alpacas and goats aren’t a good mix due to parasite issues.) Then we decided to find out if there were any slaughterhouses around so that maybe we could get some rumen from a cow who had been slaughtered for beef.
I was so proud of my resourcefulness for thinking of this! I had no farming background prior to alpacas. This stuff was seriously foreign to me, WAY outside of my frame of reference. We got alpacas to avoid having to slaughter animals so I wasn’t familiar with where to find a slaughterhouse. Finally I located one about 90 miles away. I called ahead and told them that I needed a cow’s stomach. They said,” Oookaaaay,” like I had asked them for a heart from a Martian.
I had brought a medium sized styrofoam cooler with me in which to transport, the, ahem, rumen. When the nice man lead me into the “kill room”…do not faint, Katy, do not faint… I saw a massive thing on the ground. All around it had been cleaned up. The room smelled strange, of disinfectant plus something eerie, like death. I looked at my cooler. Then I looked at the bovine stomach on the ground. Hmmm. The cow’s gut was about 6 times the size of my cooler. I was at a loss.