Thursday 26 January 2012

To go, or not to go.

Picture the scene.
I'm at the 'day job', it's somewhere between 1 and 2 in the morning. It's raining as I enter an unlit block of flats, a violent disorder has been reported. I am alone as the beam from my torch bounces off the walls of the long corridor. The floor is slippery and as my boots are wet I have to tread carefully so as not to fall over. At the end of the corridor the last door is ajar and there is the sound of a woman shouting hysterically at something or someone. I make my way carefully along the corridor steeling myself for what lies ahead. The hairs on the back of my neck are standing to attention as adrenalin rushes around my body. Out of habit I methodically pat my chest, checking that my handcuffs, baton and spray are where they should be and are ready to go. I look at the numbers on the doors as I pass them counting up from 1 towards the door at the end, number 12. The woman's shouting gets louder and louder as I approach, the language which was fruity as I entered has turned ugly and swear words are flowing freely, all shouted with feeling and a great deal of venom.
I am on full alert as my eyes look one way then the next, I can hear through my earpiece that back-up is 5 to 10 minutes away. I can hear a baby screaming from somewhere behind the door of number 8 as I pass and the muffled sounds of a parent trying to soothe him or her. My mind is racing as I arrive at the door of flat 12 and as I gently push it open several questions are simultaneously rushing around inside my head. Who is she shouting at? What has been going on? Who else is in the flat and how big are they? Shall I get my pepper spray out ready to give an attacker a faceful? Should we or should we not take a pregnant female to the Futurity?

No matter how hard I try, and I don't try very hard, I just can't stop thinking about alpacas and the year ahead. Is it just me? It can't be?

In case the suspense is too much for you........ the woman was shouting to her ex-boyfirend down the phone  who had got drunk and wet himself before plonking himself, much to her annoyance, on the her sofa. She had given him an earful and he had managed to run away before I arrived. She obviously thought he needed a bit more of an earbashing which was thoughtfully shared with everyone within a hundred yards.

Anyway the subject of my deliberation about which Sue and I have had a long discussion is how pregnant would an alpaca have to be before we decided not to take her to a show? Actually we have never taken a pregnant female to a show, never. But, many people do and I think if the female is naturally a calm animal and is used to going to shows, why not? We still haven't finalised our decision and it would only be the Futurity as it is so early in the season, but we are very tempted. The lady in question, Reeya, who would be 8 months pregnant at the time, is looking awesome!

Reeya, a Jack of Spades girl, with her mother, Dee, our oldest alpaca.

5 comments:

Bev said...

My heart was in my mouth, then I spluttered all over the place with laughing. Obviously can't offer comment on the decision, never having had any breeding alpacas, but the girl does look splendid.

Unknown said...

Glad that you only caused Bev to splutter one set of wet pants is enough for any blog!

Sorry no help. We have never really shown pregnant girls either, although we did take Roma to the YAG show not knowing if she was or wasn't. She was and still is. Like you say I guess it depends if the female has been shown as a junior and if she isn't a stress head when pregnant.

Unknown said...

P.S. Forgot to say; Can see why you are tempted, she is looking fabulous...you have got me thinking now...would I?

Apple Vale Alpacas said...

You're not alone Mark - I don't face such hair-raising situations at work thankfully, but I might be in the middle of designing the foundations for an entire building when my thoughts drift away to the herd! Reeya is looking great, but I guess part of the decision depends on how many days/nights she would be away compared with her previous trips to shows.

Perry Wheeler said...

We have taken a 9.5 month pregnant girl to a National show. It was her first pregnancy and she had not been distressed by any other previous show she had attended. We did take into account the travel time which was under an hour. I don't think we would have traveled much further with her.

We have had other girls which from the moment they are pregnant we cannot show.

It really depends on the girl.
Sarah