Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 72 Fort Collins (CSU VTH). I knew the head of Livestock Medicine & Surgery Service and Chief of Staff, Dr. Robert Callan, and felt confi- dent that Lewis would be in the best hands possible there. But how to come up with the funds for the surgery as well as travel and hotel costs for me? The events that followed are hard to describe without using clichés such as "unbelievable" and "heartwarming." But that is exactly how it felt. It was July of 2019 and I decided to try GoFundMe. I wrote Lewis's story on their site, posted it on Facebook and timidly emailed a few friends for help, hoping for the best. What happened next was a snowball effect of compassion and generosity that gathered speed and attention beyond my most hopeful dreams. The news of Lewis's rescue in the fall of 2018 had been covered by a number of papers, locally and nationally. It was gratifying. This time, a Bozeman TV station reported our story and GoFundMe appeal and off we went on a wild ride. The response by the public, locally, nationwide, and even internationally to our GoFundMe campaign took us by surprise and sent Lewis and me with sufficient funds on our trip to Fort Collins, where the media was waiting to cover our adventurous story and Lewis's upcoming surgery for the Denver area viewers. Lewis's grace- ful camera presence in front of the hospital charmed more caring folks into making donations and soon he went into surgery under the gifted hands of Dr. Jennifer Rawlinson, DVM, professor of oral surgery and his newest fan. Lewis's surgery lasted longer than expected. Dr. Jennie extracted three infected teeth, two on the right and one on the left. I sat in the waiting room with the reporters of the greater Denver area, all of us waiting for news together. It was an incredible feeling to be surround- ed by the warmth of strangers who cared about a charming camelid called Lewis. They and the over 100 generous donors wanted to be part of this story of compassion and help rid a suffering animal of his pain. I have never felt more grateful. Lewis took it all in stride, as if he had known all along the course his fate would take. His surgery was a success and the prognosis for his full recovery is excellent. Since his return home to Montana in Sep- tember, Rachel, our loyal Bozeman reporter, has returned repeatedly to update her viewers on Lewis's progress. The camera rolls. Rachel grabs the microphone. The kids stop squirming. "Today, on Christmas Eve, we are in Livingston with Lewis, Montana's favorite llama," she announces. And Lewis smiles as only a llama can. Quality • Always Montana-Made • Hand-crafted Visit us online at: www.DistinctlyMontanaGifts.com Alpaca gifts made from montana wool

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