. 

In the United States and Canada llamas are very popular for use in various types of therapy. The American magazine "Llamas" carried a most interesting article about llamas being used in treating elderly patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

A llama owner is quoted as saying that she had been a little nervous taking her llama into the old people's home for the first time but to her amazement her llama went straight up to a patient with Alzheimer's and gently rubbed against the man's arm. The llama had never done this before.

Closer to home an English llama owning friend of ours suffered from Leukaemia. When he was not undergoing treatment himself he spent much of his time raising funds for Leukaemia research by taking his llamas to charity events. He also took them right into children's wards of hospitals where the llamas provided the children with a great deal of pleasure. Sadly after many years heroically fighting the disease himself and raising funds for research he finally succumbed and died in 2001.