{"id":18752,"date":"2019-09-25T18:54:10","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T18:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarypractice.com\/?p=18752"},"modified":"2022-02-18T21:17:35","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T21:17:35","slug":"lewis-the-llama-undergoes-successful-dental-surgery-at-csu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarypractice.com\/exotic-medicine\/lewis-the-llama-undergoes-successful-dental-surgery-at-csu\/","title":{"rendered":"Lewis the Llama Undergoes Successful Dental Surgery at CSU"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lewis the llama returns to Montana this weekend after dental surgery that took place earlier in the week at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital<\/a> at Colorado State University<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Formerly known as Ike, the llama was abandoned in Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 2018 after he removed himself from a halter that pressed on a wound on his jaw that CSU veterinarians would eventually treat. Ike roamed the wilds of the park for three months and did not allow anyone to recapture him. He became famous on social media, as park visitors snapped photos of him running down a road or walking down a trail.<\/p>\n

Luckily for him, Susi H\u00fclsmeyer-Sinay, owner of Yellowstone Llamas and co-owner of the Yellowstone Safari Co. in Bozeman, Montana, went in search of Ike in late October 2018. H\u00fclsmeyer-Sinay describes herself as someone who cannot tolerate seeing animals in distress or the neglect or abuse of animals. She has owned llamas for 25 years, and she knew that there was a limited window to rescue the llama. With winter approaching, it would become more challenging for him to find food, not to mention the numerous predators in the park.<\/p>\n

H\u00fclsmeyer-Sinay brought three of her llamas to the park, along with a few friends. They brought some snacks for Ike and did a little dance, as she described it. After a few tries, Ike followed them nearly one mile to a trailer and jumped right in. She renamed him Lewis, having found him near the lake of the same name in the southern part of Yellowstone National Park.<\/p>\n

Her disdain for the suffering of animals led H\u00fclsmeyer-Sinay to bring Lewis to CSU. While she had worked with a local veterinarian and had tried the use of antibiotics to treat the wound in his jaw, she knew that the llama\u2019s mouth wasn\u2019t healing properly.<\/p>\n

As it turns out, Lewis had periodontal disease in teeth on both sides of his jaw. During his recent stay at CSU, he had three teeth extracted \u2014 one molar on the left and two molars on the right \u00ad\u2014 during a procedure that lasted four hours.<\/p>\n