Arrow Through The Heart Kills Beloved Llama
ROANOKE (CBSDFW.COM) - Several months ago the Cinnamon Creek Ranch archery range had an unexpected new arrival to their archery family.
"Well we had a llama show up here early this spring," said Charles Yardley, director of special events for the ranch. "He showed up about six or seven months ago. It just kind of made itself home here. We checked with all of our neighbors and nobody claimed him so he just stayed around here and became a mascot of ours.
"He would just stand there and watch us shoot. He kind of made himself at home on one of our ranges and watch us shoot. Everybody loved to come and hang out with the llama. And it was kind of neat just hanging around."
The dozens of kids in archery class fell in love with him. They gave it names like Loulou, Lucy and Fred.
"Oh! All of the kids when they came here couldn't wait to see the llama," Yardley said. "They'd point him out, try to pet him, go and get their picture taken with him. He was just one of the family."
Two weeks ago the beloved llama was found dead, shot through the heart with a blunt, target arrow.
"It was shot in my opinion intentionally," Yardley said. "It was in a very lethal spot. But it still would not have had the devastating impact a hunting tip might have had to make a cleaner faster death for the animal."
"We found him on a Sunday and we had to tell those kids on Monday evening the llama is no longer here. And that, for a lot of them, was very devastating. They were used to seeing the llama here all the time. And nobody can understand why that had to happen.
"The common reaction from most of our customers is very disgusted that one of our own would do something like that. People who should have had knowledge and understanding and respect for what they're doing to do something like that is just criminal.
We have some reverence for that animal," Yardley said. "And to shoot a livestock animal for no purpose other than... I don't understand what that purpose would be. That's disgusting!"
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