Update. Cria in the house.

Gertie rejected Finn; she won't let him nurse even when Dar held him up for her. It happens when the alpaca thinks there's no hope. We brought Finn into the house for the night. He's all set up in front of the fireplace (no fire going) on hay and blankets. Maddie is sitting with him right now, and he's very calmly letting her pet him. Jane is cuddled up next to him. (I know!) He is such a sweet little boy.

I just can't get my hopes up.

I took some pictures, but our internet connection is ass, and I can't upload them. I'll try later.

Update 7PM

The Poots brought Gertie and Finn back about an hour ago. I stayed in the house because there were already 7 people and 10 alpacas in the barn; they didn't need me, too. I heard that the other alpacas were overjoyed to have Gertie back; they crowded around her, sniffing and humming.

Finn is perched in his own little section of the barn; he's on an electric heating pad and under a heat lamp. He still can't move his back legs, but he's alert. I went out to the barn a little bit ago. It distressed me to see that none of the alpacas would go near him, including Gertie. I'm hoping it's just that the herd is being very protective of her; they had her scrunched in the middle of them when I came in. It's not much of a defensive maneuver, but it's one of the few they have :) She did come over to me to sniff my face and touch noses, so I felt comforted by that. I think that once everyone is settled in, Gertie will be more attentive to Finn again. He's pretty much a stranger to the rest of the herd; he's only spent three days of his life at our place.

Dar is still working on getting his temp up to normal. If he's still paralyzed after that, he'll have to be euthanized. It's going to be a waiting game now.

Update on Finn and Gertie

Dar just came back about 30 minutes ago. She thinks it was a stroke or a spinal embolism. When they found Finn he had collapsed outside in the snow. His temp was 94; normal temp is 101. She got it up to 96, but his hind legs are still paralyzed.

The Poots are bringing both Gertie and Finn back home. If he dies or has to be euthanized (either is highly likely), Dar wants them here in their own home. She doesn't want to give up hope until his temp is normalized, or as normalized as it's going to get. It's not looking great, though, guys.

I'll keep you updated.

It started out well anyway.

1. We got a call about 10AM from the friends who are keeping Gertie and her cria, Finnegan, for us. They found Finnegan collapsed, cold and not breathing well. They called here and Dar rushed over there to help with him. I just heard that his temp is getting better, but he can't move his back legs. It happened very suddenly. When the girls saw him earlier he was fine; an hour later they found him collapsed like that. I have nothing to base this on but my gut feeling, but I think he had a stroke. We know he had some neural damage from his difficult birth. Gertie is a basket case. The rest of us are pretty worried as well.

2. I heard from my brother this morning that my SIL's brother died over the weekend. He's only a few years older than I am, so it was a shock. She's doing pretty well with the reality of it; both of her parents died within a few weeks of each other in '07, so she's not overwhelmed by this.

3. I got no three.