Okay so how did I get into Llamas? We lived in Illinois and I had a friend who had been to South America and he needed a place for two of his Llamas from when the shrine closed the Way of Lights on the Epiphany, January 12 of that year, to the spring when he had a different plan for these animals. He asked if anybody had any land and we had a small piece of property. So we had these animals and we had six kids and I got horribly sick. Went to the emergency room and they told me I had six months to live…This was 1983. And the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated haha! But I thought this can’t be true. So I called Roger and said, I can’t take care of six kids and two llamas. Will you come and get the llamas? So he did. And the whole time I had cancer. And the whole time that I was getting chemotherapy and radiation I missed the llamas. They’re very compassionate animals. They sense when your sad. And they just will stand right next to you. They will comfort you. They’re just awesome, awesome critters. Our children were 10, 8, 5, 7, 3, and 1. At some point during that treatment I said to my husband I said, if I get better the only thing I want is a llama. And he said those famous words! If you get better you can have as many llamas as you want. And at one time I had 145 llamas and alpacas. So I got better. Julie Wier, Llama tender with Wier Word Llamas and Alpacas, in Wildwood MO on January 10, 2018. PHOTO BY @theorwelling for the Weekly Column The Lede for @riverfronttimes ISSUE JANUARY 17-23, 2018 | VOLUME 41 | NUMBER 02 #llamas #alpacas #stlouispeople #beautifulanimals #THERFT#documentaryphotographer #thiswassomuchfunphotographing! (at Rockwoods Reservation)
