Jan. 14—ADAMS — Ranger the llama, 21, desperately needs a friend — specifically, a female pony or neutered male llama.
Ranger shared a storied life with his late “brother” Bob, both rescued from a kill pen in Washington state in 2009. Bob died a few years ago and is buried on the farm where he lives and is owned by Melissa M. and Scott A. Eisenhauer of County Route 66.
Now the owners of Ranger seek a companion for him because llamas are social critters and are healthiest and happiest when they are with other llamas or something llama-like: A neutered male llama or a female pony would do best in Ranger’s case.
“He’s very lonely,” Melissa said. “Llamas are unlike other animals. They have to have a buddy. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pony or whatever, but I hate goats and sheep.”
Time is growing short. Llamas don’t live long past 20 years. Ranger is named after the elite Army operational unit that Scott was part of.
The Eisenhauers published a classified advertisement in the Watertown Daily Times about Ranger’s predicament. “Fantastic full life awaits,” the ad says of a potential partner. “Best of hay and grain and huge barn and pasture.”
Any potential partner should gladly know that Ranger the llama is not known for spitting, as llamas are generally known to do.
“He has never spit at anybody except his brother when he wanted something that Bob had,” Melissa, a former veterinarian technician, said. “He’s never spit at me or another person, except for a person who was going to do me wrong once. I knew it wasn’t going to work out well, and I was right.”
Melissa wants Ranger to enjoy his final days, with company. “He might not live very long because he’s alone,” Melissa said. “I go out there during the day, even though I’m sick and dying, and spend time with him, brush him and talk to him because he can’t go outside when it’s real snowy. He’s too afraid because he fell on ice and snow. He’s no dummy. Llamas are 10 times smarter than a dog. They are brilliant animals able to figure things out like in three seconds.”
Melissa is undergoing treatment for cancer and that is one of the reasons she and her husband moved to the north country.
“I got cancer and two doctors told me I had a year to live.” That was about seven years ago. “So, I said, ‘Let’s move to where your parents are. You’ll be by your parents and when I croak, at least you’ll have your family.’ I had to talk him into it.”
Scott is the son of Wesley and Donna Eisenhauer, Watertown. He’s a 1981 graduate of Immaculate Heart High School, Watertown, and a 1985 graduate of West Point Military Academy — commissioned as a second lieutenant. in the Army infantry. He served 23 years, commanding troops from platoon to battalion level, including in Alaska. He finished his Army career as the Deputy Commanding Officer of the 191st Training Brigade at Fort Lewis, Washington, retiring as Lieutenant Colonel in 2008. Awards include Ranger Tab, Master Parachutist, Royal British Parachute Wings, Expert Infantryman Badge, Silver Recruiter Badge, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (5th Award), Army Achievement Medal (2nd Award), Army Superior Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Overseas Service Ribbon (second award).
After the service, Scott worked for Trane (HVAC) as a senior construction project manager from 2008 to 2018. The majority of that work was with school districts and municipalities to implement energy services agreements, securing grants and managing solar, HVAC and wastewater facility upgrades.
Melissa and Scott arrived in the north country from Washington three days before Thanksgiving in 2018.
llamas with a mission
In Washington, Melissa paid $100 for Ranger and Bob in 2009. They were originally tasked with eating bushes on the Eisenhauer’s Washington property.
“They had been moved around Washington State several times, from auction house to auction house, before we obtained them,” Scott said. “It took my wife only four months to gain their trust, spending hours each day out in the pasture with them.”
Not so with Scott.
“For me, it took nearly a year-and-a-half before they would let me feed them by hand or brush them,” he said. “Bob passed a couple of years ago and we have been looking for another companion for Ranger. He will be 22 years old this summer and that is long for a llama.”
It was a tough move for Ranger from Washington to here.
“That was the year of that bad Thanksgiving snowstorm,” Scott said. “We had just finished moving across country and I had told the carrier to call me the next morning and I would come help load them both out as it was extremely icy. Never got a call and the boarder and mover loaded them on icy ramps. When delivered to us later that Saturday morning, we asked why Ranger was laying down in trailer and not standing. I was told his back legs splayed on the icy ramp when loading.”
The Eisenhauers were furious. Melissa spent the next two days at an animal hospital at Cornell University, Ithaca, while Ranger underwent surgery to have a plate put in to repair the broken femur. Melissa said the operation followed some persuasion on her part.
“A lady came out and said, ‘You know, we probably have to put him down,'” she said. “I said, ‘No. You’re not putting him down,’ that I was a vet tech, and said, ‘You can set steel in there.'”
Melissa said she was told that would be costly. “I said, ‘I don’t care if it’s $30,000. Fix him for me please.’ They said, OK. He’ll be here for two weeks.”
Melissa said the procedure cost $11,000. “An orthopedist person doctor came in and helped fix him. They took care of him like he was made of gold. Cornell was absolutely wonderful. Ranger’s stall was bigger than my bedroom.”
“Cornell did a fantastic job, and they are a fantastic school,” Scott said. “I’m honestly surprised that Ranger continues to get around and is still with us. I thought he would be the first to go after that injury.”
During Ranger’s recovery in Adams, he was kept in a special place in the Eisenhauer barn. “He couldn’t move around a lot. We called it the sick pen,” Melissa said. “He had to live in that tiny hospital area and couldn’t walk much for six months. And we had to leave him locked in the barn with Bob. They didn’t like to be apart. We found out they were together their whole lives.”
Ranger nearly found a new buddy in October of 2013 when his owners traveled to just south of Geneva, near Seneca Lake, when they picked up an alpaca. The Eisenhauers named the animal Forest. It took about four weeks of integration before they let him out in pasture with Ranger.
“I would walk him on halter daily in pasture so Ranger would see no threat,” Scott said.
Forest died a year later due to meningeal worm. The parasite affects the central nervous system, with larvae transmitted through ingestion. It is also common in white tail deer. According to Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine, the worms are able to reproduce and lay eggs within the animal, and infected deer shed larvae in their feces. Transmission can occur by ingestion of infected snails and slugs while grazing. “Seems it is common here in the north country and affects alpacas more than llamas,” Scott said.
Good company
A female pony would be better for Ranger than a horse, Melissa said. “I can’t get a horse because horses kick when they play and if Ranger gets a hip kick, he’s dead. I have to have something that’s too little to kick that hip and femur.”
Donkeys need not apply.
“Donkeys kick,” Melissa said. “I’ve had miniature donkeys and I’ve had to get rid of them. They were absolutely evil and they need attention 24/7. They never leave you alone. And if you don’t pay them enough attention, they scream like a lady.”
In addition to Ranger, the Eisenhauer farm has two cats, seven parakeets, five turkeys and about two dozen chickens.
“The turkeys love Ranger,” Melissa said. “He basically lives with them during the day. They sit all around him, clean his fur.”
Ranger lives in the walkout area of the barn. “Which means he can come and go as he pleases, has two feet of puffy straw and eats the best of foods,” Melissa said. Ranger has a particular fondness for shaved carrots in addition to his regular diet of horse sweet feed with alpaca chow and llama chow mixed in.
As of late last week, the Eisenhauers received one call in response to their advertisement.
“Some lady called and said her pony does tricks and pulls a cart. But I just need a pony to live in a luxurious environment that will get the best of everything for the rest of its life.”
The person, Melissa said, sought $1,500 for the pony. “I said, ‘I’m 66 and dying of cancer. You think I care about getting pulled around in a cart by a pony?'”
Neighbors, Melissa said, have joined the search for a companion for Ranger.
“I just can’t believe in this whole agricultural section of upstate New York that not one person has a pony or a llama they will sell to me.”
She’s willing to pay up to $1,000 to find a buddy for Ranger.
“I just need somebody to come forth with something. But my veterinarian, Dr. Becky Reynolds, will be coming with me, at her convenience and tell me, yes or no, to buy that animal. That will make my decision for me.”
Another quality that Melissa appreciates about llamas is their braveness. “That’s why a lot of people buy them — to take care of their horses and things like that,” Melissa said. “They will go up against any animal and fight. They’ll go up against a wolf. They don’t care. They will go and they will fight and win, unless it’s like five wolves.”
Ranger now fights the foe of loneliness. People may call Melissa at 253-468-2960 if they think they have the right match for him.
She said, “You can see him out in his pasture, looking for someone to love.”