Retiree Richard Wilkinson has lived with three alpacas on his WA property for more than 15 years — but his backyard now has a sombre silence after a string of deadly attacks.
Mr Wilkinson, 81, came down to feed breakfast to his beloved pets six weeks ago to find two had been savagely attacked by domestic dogs.
Both later died.
"That left one old boy who got very stressed because alpacas are herd animals," he said.
Feeling sorry for the one remaining alpaca, he quickly purchased two elderly females who needed rehoming.
They were all dead within 48 hours.
"Very upsetting, very stressful … I still look for the alpacas when I'm feeding the chooks," he said.
He and local authorities were confident the deaths were the work of nearby domestic dogs.
"We have foxes here, but they're too small to do much with an alpaca … it was almost certainly two dogs acting as a pack," he said.
Sheep among wolves
Twenty kilometres to the east, sheep farmer Des Driessen said he was facing the same issue.
He recently lost a beloved ram named Hercules after a suspected dog attack, despite spending $12,000 on vet bills in an attempt to save him.
Mr Driessen said incidents had become more prevalent in recent years.
"They're no different to a damn pack of wolves," he said.
"Since we've been here we've lost 500 sheep to dogs."
He said visitors arriving for a weekend getaway were often unaware their beloved pooches could pose a serious risk to livestock.
"The hobby farmers and their weekender friends … their dogs often aren't locked up at night," Mr Driessen said.
He said they brought untrained dogs without chains.
"If we didn't have sheep here we wouldn't mind, but we've got good merino sheep," he said.
"When you see your sheep torn up, it puts tears in your eyes."
Onus on dog owners
There have been about 30 dog attacks in the Shire of Toodyay this year.
Ranger Wade McMillan said many incidents could have been avoided if dog owners took proper precautions.
"I believe they come up from the city, or elsewhere, and they think because it's a big property the dog can run wild and have a good time," he said.
"When there's livestock involved, most dogs will run, chase and maybe attack."
He said owners could build correct confinement for their dogs.
"If they have a large property, build an area around the house," he said.
"Most dogs are going to leave the property and chase things if given the chance."
No more alpacas
Mr Wilkinson said he didn't blame the dogs for the death of his alpacas but said he would miss having them around.
"I would never ask for a dog to be put down for attacking, but I do not want to see the dogs up here unless they're confined," he said.
"I would doubt that I'd live here another four or five years, and I wouldn't want to get rid of them [alpacas] and rehome them."
