Broken Hearts!

On August 27, 07 we lost our "old gal" Samantha. Samantha was a 20 year old female alpaca that we have owned for the last 6 years. She was blind and because of her blindness we had developed a very special bond. She was the farm favorite to all that came to know her. Despite her blindness she was so trusting, always calm, and not afraid of new situations.
It all began last Sunday, I was out with the girls in the afternoon to give them a belly hose and she readily came over for her turn. She was her normal self. I went back out at 4:30 and I could tell she was in abdominal distress. She would stand and then immediately lay back down and kick her hind legs out to the side. Then to start the whole process all over again. My husband and I moved her to the barn in front of the fan. I took her temp which was normal, she was not hot to the touch. I immediately gave her some probotics to get her ruminant working. I also gave her some banamine for pain and a shot of antibiotic. I wanted to cover all the basics especially when you don't know what your dealing with. There wasn't a change in her diet, she never had loose stools, and she was always covered for meningeal worm. She seemed to settle down and very couple of hours I checked on her. She was laying in a cushed position, she was bright and alert. I went out just around 11:00 and she had moved herself out of the barn and was laying in the barnyard under the trees. She was still bright and alert. I felt confident she was feeling much better so I retired for the night. At 6:00 a.m. I found her dead. She was still in the same area and there was no signs of struggling. My heart was broken. We decided not to do a necropy on her as she had lived a very full life and their life expectancy is 20 -25 years.
She was a very special girl and I can't tell you how much I miss her. She will always hold a very special place in my heart and I'm thankful for the lessons she has taught me. She is one of the reasons why I am so passionate about my alpacas.