GentleSpiritLlamas.com
Title
Gentle Spirit Behavior and Training, Alpaca and Llama
Description
Cathy Spalding lives with her husband of over 30 years and the youngest of their three children in Olympia, WA where they manage their herd of 18 llamas and alpacas. Both of their older children are married to wonderful partners and live out of state. Their daughter has seen much of the world with Northwest Airlines and has recently earned a teaching degree. Their oldest son is a Boatswains Mate with the United States Coast Guard.
Together with her family, Cathy has been actively involved in the llama and alpaca communities since 1985. Cathy has served as a board member for both the ILA and local associations, chaired and co-chaired many llama events and fundraisers, served as an active member on numerous committees for local and national associations including the ILR, edited the LOWS newsletter, spearheaded the Llama and Alpaca Symposium in Kansas City, written numerous articles, authored the Delta Society guidelines for llamas and alpacas, and created the llama and alpaca cartoons "Changing Places" and "Lamazing Wisdom." Cathy currently serves on the International Camelid Institute Advisory Council and on the Board of Directors for the Llama Association of North America. Her first behavioral textbook on CD-ROM entitled "Llama Talk" is a vast collection of llama behavioral cues and vocals. Continually in high demand, "Llama Talk" is used in a number of veterinary universities including Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. and the Uruguay Veterinary School of Medicine in Uruguay, South America. Her article on positioning has been translated into Chinese and presented at the Xi'an Jiaotong University in China. Cathy is currently completing production of her second behavioral CD-ROM for alpacas entitled "Alpaca Talk."
Trained as a paralegal, Cathy's work with llamas, alpacas and their people remain her first love. Her focus is in the understanding of llama and alpaca behavior as the very foundation for training and herd management. Cathy believes there is more than one "right" way to do anything which naturally includes our herd management, training and interaction with llamas and alpacas. Understanding as much as we can about their behaviors provides important useful information in making educated decisions for what approach or technique might be most appropriate in any given situation. Cathy's clinics and presentations worldwide provide an understanding of positioning and behavioral responses between llamas, alpacas and their people. Almost instantly, a whole new level of respect, understanding and interaction takes place between participants and their animals. It can be as simple as where one stands. Understanding behavioral cues has also saved lives. Cathy teaches alpaca and llama training clinics and behavioral classes (which include a detailed visual presentation) for Cornell University, OSU and WSU, the Boeing Company, alpaca and llama associations including LANA, CLAA and AOBA and at private farms and ranches worldwide, is a guest speaker at many conferences, works with FFA and 4H and serves as a judge at many county fairs and jackpots.
