Sunday, September 29, 2013
Precious Therapy Llamas Bring Joy to Sick and Elderly
There are approximately 10,000 therapy animals in the United States. Of those, 14 are llamas. That’s good for 0.14%. In an article published last year for Colors Magazine (Issue #83 ‘Happiness’ published April 16, 2012), photographer Jen Osborne accompanied two certified llama therapists as they visited the Bellingham Health and Rehabilitation Center in Washington, USA.
According to Colors Magazine, all residents are recovering from illness and most are elderly. Many have been there for years and have ever met a llama in person.
Seen here are Marisco and N.H. Flight of the Eagle, two therapy llamas trained by Niki Kuklenski of JNK Llamas. To qualify, llamas must be at least two years old, have never been bottle-fed, and undergo a battery of tests to gauge how they react to stressful situations. Only a select number of llamas have the temperament to be certified therapists.
