By EMMA SUN
WHEN Viv Williams hosted an open for inspection at her Dewhurst property, the last thing she expected was for someone to steal her beloved alpaca.
But that’s exactly what she woke up to the next morning on Sunday 1 September – her darling six-year-old Pencils, one of two alpacas on her property, was gone.
Ms Williams said she suspected the alpaca had been stolen because the gate was closed when she checked that morning and her 12-year-old alpaca Watson was left there.
Pencils suffers from epilepsy and is prone to fits, something Ms Williams said she was gravely concerned about.
“Knowing he’s epileptic, he could’ve had a fit and be lying down somewhere so I searched everywhere,” she said.
“Then I found the side gate had been opened and closed but not chained so I assume someone had been in and had shut the gate behind them.
“I’m worried that he’ll have a fit wherever he is and be left lying there kicking and writhing.”
Ms Williams said whoever stole Pencils would have thought he was a good looking breed but must not have known he had health problems.
But she said she wanted him back, after raising him since birth.
“When I was given him, he was a little dwarf alpaca who was not flourishing, who had epilepsy, couldn’t see, couldn’t hear, and they were going to put him down,” she said.
“I have a very close relationship with all my animals, I’m with them every day and they help me when I’m working in the paddock.
“I’m pretty angry, if someone’s desperate for one and can’t afford one I’ll give them one of the girls who are kept in Clyde.”
Ms Williams said she hoped the culprit would return Pencils the way they stole them – just put him back in the paddock and close the gate.
“It doesn’t matter who it is, just tell me where he is, or just return him the way he was stolen, no questions asked,” she said.
She warned other residents in the area to be more wary when opening their houses to the public.
