This animal rescue had to relocate 3 times in 10 months
The Llama Sanctuary has now found a home in the Okanagan's Shuswap region
The housing crisis isn't just affecting tenants of apartments and houses — it's forcing alpacas and llamas to move as well.
The Llama Sanctuary, a rescue organization in the Okanagan's Shuswap region, had to relocate three times in 10 months.
"The journey, so far, has been painful," said David Chapman, one of the owners of the sanctuary, during an interview with CBC's Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce.
Moving house is difficult enough, but the task becomes herculean, Chapman says, when there are over 40 large animals to care for.
Chapman and his wife, Lynne Milsom, have been running the sanctuary since 2005, taking in llamas and alpacas and providing them with rehabilitation and re-homing services.
In June 2022, when their rental agreement came to an end, the duo received notice to vacate the property they had been renting. They left at the end of July.
"With property prices through the roof, we were forced to accept unsuitable short-term rental offers and we moved from Chase to Vernon and Vernon to Mara," said Chapman.
Currently, the sanctuary is based in the Recline Ridge Ecopark in Tappen, B.C. The rescue moved there in May after securing a lease for a portion of the 65-hectare rural property.
"It is still a blank canvas and we have had to build new facilities," he added.
Much of the Llama Sanctuary's income depends on crowdfunding and guided tours. However, while on the move, the operators were unable to provide guided tours, thereby limiting their source of funds.
"We are basically operating empty," said Chapman.
He has started a fundraiser so they can build new barns and visitor facilities, install "llama-proof" fencing and make other necessary improvements.
Chapman and Milsom are currently working on building a new infirmary, which will house the llamas and alpacas that require special care during the winter months.
Many of the animals housed in the rescue facility are elderly, immobilized and require special care.
Caring for animals with special needs
One of the most recent additions to the Llama Sanctuary is an alpaca named Eddie.
Eddie had a debilitating layer of overgrown fleece when he first arrived at the sanctuary. Soaked with urine and encrusted with feces, the alpaca's matted tangle of fleece housed numerous mites and even pieces of thick steel wire.
"The fleece was all the way down to the ground and his feet were completely obscured. His legs were all bound together and he couldn't move," said Chapman.
Earlier this month the rescue got a call from an alpaca owner asking them to take Eddie.
"The owner was being moved from their property and said they could no longer afford to care for Eddie and we agreed to go and collect him," said Chapman.
He said they spent an hour removing about 30 pounds from Eddie's "phenomenally heavy coat," including two pieces of steel wire embedded near his tail.
"We didn't use electric shears because then he wouldn't have enough warmth to keep him going. So we used scissors to leave several inches of fibre behind," added Chapman.
The sanctuary owners said he is now able to move around and has also started chewing cud — something alpacas only do when they feel relaxed.
"He had very restricted movement for a long time and suddenly he's got this freedom of movement, so he didn't know how to walk," said Chapman.
The increase in leg mobility is causing Eddie some leg pain and he requires further care to fully recuperate, Chapman said.
With files from Daybreak Kamloops