Lyric Farm

08/14/2025

Hi Everyone!

Michelle here. Stuart is a little bit out of it at the moment, so he asked me to give you an update. He also said to tell you that he’ll give you his own update after the surgery, so stay tuned!

Stuart did okay overnight. (No news is good news overnight in the veterinary world.) His bloodwork was not perfect, but the only remarkable thing was a kidney value (creatinine) that was ever so slightly elevated outside the normal range. This could be caused by a couple of things or a combo of the two: age-related decline in kidney function, and/or dehydration. The other markers that could mean it was due to dehydration alone were not changed, so it’s likely age or a combo.

What does this mean? It means that the risk of having Stuart under anesthesia has risen slightly, but is not high enough to prevent us from doing the surgery. And, after discussing the bloodwork this morning with Dr. Jenei, he reiterated that there are not really any other alternatives to the course of action we’re taking that eill also preserve life and give Stuart the opportunity to recover. So, there’s that.

Stuart’s surgery is happening today. They originally anticipated being able to start it around 10:30-11:00 am, but—as often happens in a hospital—the schedule changeda bit.

As a result, I had the opportunity to hang out with Stuart in his air conditioned stall (he *really* wants AC in the barn at home!), then just now walked with him to the operating room.

So now we wait to see what they find. ⏳

Thanks for caring and for your support!

Here’s how to support Stuart through this surgery and his recovery—which does NOT include installing AC in the barn:

💜 Pray for Stuart and the rest of us 🙏🏻

💜 Like, comment on, and share our posts so other people can makes difference, too 👍🏻

💜 Donate online at https://give.cornerstone.cc/therefugeatlyricfarm

💜 Make a payment directly to Stuart’s bill by calling the Accounting Department at Tufts Hospital for Large Animals at 1-508-839-7937 or by calling the main number at 1-508-839-7926 and selecting the Accounting option from the menu.

💜 Send a check: please make it out to The Refuge at Lyric Farm, and send it to:
The Refuge at Lyric Farm
c/o Players Philanthropy Fund
1122 Kennilworth Drive, #201
Towson, MD 21204

💜 Send us items off our gift list: https://giftster.com/gift/public/OYQta/

💜 Visit our website: https://lyricfarm.com

Thank you for your support! 💜

The Refuge at Lyric Farm is a project of Players Philanthropy Fund, Inc., a Texas nonprofit corporation recognized by IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178,ppf.org/pp). Contributions to The Refuge at Lyric Farm qualify as tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

08/14/2025

Farm Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Stuart’s Blog, Entry 1

Hi friends—it’s me, Stuart!

Have you ever had a no good, very bad day? Or a stretch of days like that? Whew, has it been a rough few days here at TRALF, where it seems like there’s one thing after the other just testing Mummy’s endurance!

And a lot of it is related to me, even though it’s not my fault. 🥴

Let me tell you about my very unpleasant, eventful Monday, and today’s curious happenings!🤔

I’ve been having some trouble “tinkling”, 💦 and my Mum (you know, Michelle) recognized that an infection I had in my llama-nether-regions was back. She called the nice vets at EquidDoc Mobile Vet Services, who put me on an antibiotic and anti-inflammatories—whatever those are, but I remember they helped me feel better the last time 😅, even if it meant getting stuck with needles. 💉

But after several days, I was getting worse instead of better, so Dr Liz came on Monday to come take a look. 👀 Next thing I know, there’s 4 ladies in my stall, and I’m getting a shot of something that makes me feel very calm and happy. 🙃 I was feeling pretty special until…Dr. Liz shoved a thermometer up my butt! Like come ON lady! That was RUDE!

Anyway, Dr. Liz said I had no fever, so that’s good news! The bad news? They needed to take a closer look at my *ahem* manhood. It didn’t go very well. Dr. Liz said that I have a “constriction”—another word I don’t know, but it’s stopping my p*e from exiting my body, and causing an infection. 😟 I mean, I can empty my bladder, but the p*e is just collecting in my skin. She inserted a catheter to help it drain—0 out by of 5 stars, by the way; do NOT recommend—and cleaned it out down there as best she could, then advised getting me to the surgical department at Tufts Hospital for Large Animals to give me the best chance at a good outcome. I don’t know what that means, exactly, because I’ve never been there before, but Mum seemed to understand, so I guess that’s okay, because I trust my mummy. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The plan initially was to keep giving me those helpful shots, and take me to Tufts on Tuesday, or maybe Wednesday, depending on how I did, but when Mum came to check on me Monday evening, the area did not look good. That escalated quickly! 😳

Unfortunately Tufts was slammed and couldn’t see me until today (Wednesday), and Mum was able to keep me stable, even though she was a little nervous about how things progressed. I could hear her talking to the vets at EquidDoc every day, to make sure I would be okay. 💜

So now I’m at Tufts! I got to ride in the trailer for the first time, and had fun watching the people in the other cars take pictures of me on the way here. I kinda felt like a celebrity! 😎 I had to walk all the way around the building to get to my stall. I was curious about some of the horses we walked by, and wanted to meet them, but Mum said no. I wasn’t too excited about Mum having to leave me when the nice lady closed the stall door and led her away, but I’ve been visited by some very nice people.

One of those people is Dr. Jenei, and he took some sound pictures of my trouble spot so he and Mummy can figure it what to do to help me feel better. 🧐 It made me a little uncomfortable, but there were more happy medicines involved, so I was feeling pretty chill for a while. ☺️

I was left all alone in my stall while Dr. Jenei talked with Mummy about the pictures they took. When she came back a little while later, Mum said something about an estimate and surgery and staying over night. I guess that’s okay, because wow, is it comfy in here! I think I heard someone call it “air conditioning.” I could get used to this! I think Mummy should put some in the barn at home, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen…

As you can see, I am a very handsome llama with a fantastic smile, and I was so, so good for all of the unpleasantries Monday during the exam, and I’m being very good for Dr. Jenei and all the other nice people, too.

Mum said the vet bill Monday was $378 just for the visit from Dr. Liz. Dr. Jenei and Mummy talked about what comes next for me at Tufts, and Mum said it’s worth finding out what’s going on and seeing if Dr. Jenei can solve my problem. The bill for today was about $750-800.

Because they don’t know yet what is causing my problem, they need to try to figure that out. They came up with 3 possibilities, but none of them are perfect matches. I guess I’m special after all! 🤣 The possibility that fits my scenario the best is the scariest one—cancer. It’s also potentially the easiest to identify, so really, each time something is ruled out, the better it is for me, 🎉 and the worse it is for Mummy’s pocketbook! 🤦🏻‍♀️


My surgery and stay at “The Llama Ritz at Tufts” could be as high as $6490.50 and my surgery happens on Thursday. I need your help! If you are able, won’t you please help Mummy raise the funds to help me? No amount is too small or large!

I’m nervous (well, those drugs are helping a lot!), so I’m also asking for your prayers. I also know that I am in great hands here at Tufts, and that Mum will do everything she can to get me feeling 100% again. Won’t you help her do that for me, please? 🙏🏻 I’d be ever so grateful if you would, and my problem could be solved. 😇

To donate, all you have to do is click this link and it will take you to the place where it’s easy to make an online donation: https://give.cornerstone.cc/therefugeatlyricfarm

You can also get there from our new, beautiful website (Check it out!): https://lyricfarm.com/

If you would rather call the nice Accounting people at Tufts Large Animal Hospital, and make a contribution directly to my bill, please call them directly at 1-508-839-7937, or call the main number, 1-508-839-7926, and choose Accounting in the menu.

And if you would prefer to send a donation by check, please make it out to The Refuge at Lyric Farm and send it to:
The Refuge at Lyric Farm
c/o Players Philanthropy Fund
1122 Kenilworth Drive, #201
Towson, MD 21204

Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers and contributions! You are the reason Mum can keep helping me and my other sweet herdmates.

I’ll post an update soon, but be patient okay? My toes don’t work too well on a phone—especially when they give me the happy medicine. 😝

Thanks again and bye for now. I have a big day tomorrow and need to get some sleep!

Stuart the Llama signing out.
XOX

PS: Please like and comment on and share this post so more people will see it!
Also, I forgot to tell you this: The Refuge at Lyric Farm is a project of Players Philanthropy Fund, Inc., a Texas nonprofit corporation recognized by IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 27-6601178, ppf.org/pp). Contributions to The Refuge at Lyric Farm qualify as tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

08/14/2025

I heard the gate latch behind me as I automatically turned to the right. I glanced up, saw the empty pen, and the grief hit as if I’d walked into a wall.

He’s really gone. Oh, my heart!

I clutched my heart and fought tears as I turned to head back the other way, away from where he’d been part of my nightly routine for the past 5 1/2 years. Away from the post where he’d held court, the lookout from which he’d sounded the danger alarm, the gate from which he’d announced the arrival of friend and stranger alike.

I haven’t had a good cry yet. I’ve been in shock. I’ve been too busy. I’ve had too many tasks still on my to do list to take time for the debilitating show of emotion and the recovery: There’s Stuart, and his ongoing troubles. Is he stable enough to wait until his appointment at Tufts? Do I need to take him in as an emergency? His condition seems to be worsening, but he’s still eating, and drinking, and—apparently—*attempting* to p*e. What does the vet think? Okay, we’ll wait.

There’s Mom. How’s her blood glucose level? How is that irritated spot next to her mouth? Is the anti-fungal cream helping? The nurse is coming; what supplies do we need? I forgot to check. Oh, she has a tele-health Dr appointment in the middle of that fundraising seminar I bought a ticket for! I can’t change the appointment now; I guess I’ll just step away from the seminar and try to watch the replay of the info that I’ll miss. Note to self: we need chucks and wipes and 4x4 bandages for that skin tear on her arm. Tell the nurse.

Laundry. I’m out of clean barn clothes! I must remember to start a load after my shower. And whites. And…crap. I need almost everything. Ugh.

Wesley. Is he losing weight? Maybe that supplement that was recommended will help him feel a little better. I ordered it already, didn’t I? Didn’t I?

What’s for dinner? Is the rabbit acting weird? The cats are sure a lot more vocal since Elliot died, especially Spencer. I miss him, too.

I’m so tired. When am I going to sleep?? Even in bed I’m awake. Thanks menopause. You inhale so hard!

I’ve kind of been waiting for this moment, when I actually feel the grief, rather than pushing it aside because I have to be in problem-solving mode.

It was so unexpected, his death last night! But somehow I couldn’t process it beyond finding answers to the questions that needed asking: What happened?? When did it happen? How did it happen?

There were no signs of trauma, no advanced warnings to indicate an illness that might have led to this moment. He just looked like he was…sleeping.

Did I see him that morning, as I rushed to get to my appointment? I looked for him, but saw he was in his hut. Unusual when we’re out and about, but not unheard of. Dad was there, too. Did he see him? No, just his tether going into his hut. Then I was gone all day with appointments, and then doing stuff on the computer when I got home. Then, finally, out to do the evening feeding.

I was doing something nearby, while Chris got the dog food ready. He went out the barn door to give him his dinner. I was only vaguely aware of him rushing back inside until he was close, making a beeline toward me. Wait. This is not right. “What’s wrong?” I asked taking a step back as he rushed into me, and surrounded me with his arms. “What happened?” I asked again, my arms still not embracing him as he embraced me. As he buried his head into my shoulder he whisper croaked, “Booth’s dead.”

“WHAT?? Wait. WHAT??” I repeated as I now rushed out the door to see for myself this ridiculous, shocking thing. It wasn’t that far to walk to, his living area, just a mere handful of steps. A hundred thoughts zoomed through my mind: did he hurt himself? Did he get caught trying to climb over the fence again? Why would he try that? There wasn’t a storm to make him nervous; we’ve had sunny weather! Ooh, we’ve had hot weather. Was it heat stroke? But the temperature sensor didn’t go off in his hut, and although it was warm today, the humidity was low and he was in the shade. Maybe he hurt himself trying to dig under the fence again. Or trying to chew “through” the fence again. Did he try to attack Red again?

But no. He was not hanging from the fence or lying injured in any other area of his recently mowed space. He was in his hut…sleeping. Except he wasn’t.

He was dead.

Did he strangle because his tether caught on something? Where are his collars? I couldn’t tell. The tether is loose out here, but I can’t reach him where he is.

We tipped the calf hutch up on one side, uncovering him in his repose, next to his inside dog house.

No, the tether was not caught on anything. His double collars, a necessity because he kept breaking a single one, were the appropriate tension. There is no sign of…anything. Except he was dead.

And he is cold. Well, the ambient temperature of the night air, which tells me his passing happened earlier in the day, maybe even in the morning, before I left for my appointments.

The shock was weird, all encompassing and numbing. I didn’t feel any of the feels, I just went into problem solving mode, and basically left Chris to finish all the feeding. Needed to notify our volunteers before it gets too late. Don’t want them showing up and being blindsided by the news when they arrive and he’s missing. I notified the parents of my younger volunteers, so they could break the news in the best way to their child. Notified the adults and other people who knew and loved him…and me.

My thoughts: It’s been hot today. We need to bury him tonight, especially if he passed early in the day. Wait. Do we want to do a necropsy to find out cause of death? We have 4 other dogs in close proximity to be concerned about if it’s not just natural causes. How much does it cost? Is it worth the expense? Would that money be better used on the living—the other residents and dogs here at The Refuge? Who even does a necropsy? Tufts. Call Tufts to find out price. Necropsy is free because he’d been seen there before, but following consult is not. Then he has to be cremated (for a fee). Can I drop him off tonight? Because heat + death = unpleasant aromas. Yes. Okay.

I was numb. On autopilot. It was 3am before I get home—because a dead dog is not as emergent as a living animal in crisis, which is fair, so I had to wait a bit. But I was nasty—from sweat and dust and dirt and dead dog—and want climbing into bed before in showered. Since Stuart was stable enough to wait for his appointment, and I didn’t take him in as an emergency at the same time I took the dog for a necropsy, I managed to get about 4 1/2 hours of fitful sleep before rising to get him loaded and trailered to Tufts.

And now? Now I sit on the chair in my bathroom, stalled in my task of un******ng for a shower, the cat snoozing in her bed on the floor next to me. Her presence is comforting as I feel all the feels of sorrow and grief and of missing my boy.

Booth was 10 years, 6 months, and 15 days old when his watch ended. He was an enthusiastic, 150-pound puppy when he was getting loved on, afraid of thunderstorms, and didn’t like rain or Red. But he loved his people, and loved his job, and was a very, very good boy.

Rest in peace my sweet Boothy Boy. Mummy loves you.

08/12/2025

The Refuge at Lyric Farm is a nonprofit animal rescue farm offering hands-on visits, volunteering, and care for special-needs animals in Massachusetts.

08/12/2025

This breaks my heart! 💔😢 Please don’t use SGARS for rodent control; they make so many non-target animals sick by secondary poisoning.

I did not know this! 😳 Did you know sarcoptic mange was *intentionally introduced* by humans in Texas (late 1800s) and Montana (early 1900s) as part of government-sponsored efforts to eradicate wolves and coyotes?❓!!!!!

Historical records trace the spread of this devastating disease to at least two human-led efforts to eliminate wild carnivores.

In Texas, a sheep rancher named Mr. Campbell introduced mange “as a plan to rid the state of noxious wild animals.” (The Fort Worth Daily Gazette, 1893)

In Montana, state veterinarian Dr. Knowles infected wolves and coyotes as part of a government-backed extermination campaign. The program ended in 1916, but the disease persisted. (Journal of Wildlife Diseases)

The methods were brutal: trapping wild animals, pulling pups from dens, inoculating them with mange and distemper, even penning infected dogs with healthy carnivores to spread disease. It wasn’t just unethical, it was ecologically disastrous.

Today, mange still harms wildlife, and humans are still contributing. 🐀 Rodenticides (rat poison) weaken animals’ immune systems, making coyotes, foxes, and bobcats more vulnerable. These toxins also cause deadly secondary poisoning in birds of prey 🦉 and other predators.

While more people now recognize wild carnivores for their intrinsic worth and ecological importance, outdated policies still linger, echoes of a past rooted in fear, not science or compassion. History reminds us to choose science-based, compassionate coexistence and reject practices that continue to harm wildlife and the ecosystems they support.

🐾 How you can help:
✔ Avoid rodenticides
✔ Use humane alternatives (no glue traps!)
✔ Seal entry points and secure attractants
✔ Support natural rodent control by welcoming wild carnivores

🐾 If you see an animal with mange:
Contact your local wildlife rehabilitator before approaching. Search “[Your state] wildlife rehabilitator list” or visit: https://ahnow.org

📷 Karin Saucedo, |

08/12/2025

We are THRILLED to announce the publishing of our beautiful new website, designed by Matthew Reardon of Reardon Web Development! Check us out and let us know what you think! 💜

The Refuge at Lyric Farm is a nonprofit animal rescue farm offering hands-on visits, volunteering, and care for special-needs animals in Massachusetts.

08/10/2025

Caption this photo!

08/09/2025

These babies need help!

90 signatures are still needed! DEMAND CHANGE TO HELP HOMELESS CATS

08/08/2025

Update: we *almost* had him! 😩 He’s pretty skittish at this point. Hopefully he’ll calm down and he’ll be caught and returned home soon!

08/07/2025

The little white-footed mouse we found a rehabber for was released yesterday with the rest of the group of babies Jessica (the rehabber) had. Yay!! 🎉 Thanks, Jessica!! 💜

08/01/2025

Crystal the alpaca gets a refreshing shower from the hose—her absolute favorite thing! How do YOU stay cool?? Let us know in the comments!

07/30/2025

Three photo updates (each taken several days apart from the previous) on the baby mouse we found a wildlife rehabilitator for last week. 🥰

Please do us a favor and send Jess something from her Amazon Wishlist. The second wave of babies has hit and she’s in need! https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Q0R0GHWH9D0U?ref_=wl_share