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It all began in 1984 with a phone call, but I recall the conversation as if it were yesterday. I was in Lima, Peru, supervising a shipment of birds destined for Los Angeles, when my partner, David Mohilef, called me and said: "Can you go down to Chile and look into alpacas for the United States?"
At that time, we had llamas, but I knew little, if anything, about alpacas. So off to the Lima library I went to find any information I could get about alpacas. There, I discovered a source that listed the author as living in Lima. I was able to locate his phone number, took a chance, and called. He was so excited to find foreigners interested in his passion, that he invited me to his home. I thought we would meet for a few minutes, maybe an hour, at the most, but the morning meeting went well past lunch into the late afternoon. I was learning that alpaca owners are passionate, enjoying their stories. I left with an introduction to an associate in Chile, who would later be instrumental in helping me with the selection of our alpacas in Chile for the United States.
Thus began the incredible journey that led to the shipments of alpacas from Chile to the United States, New Zealand and Australia. That was followed by the shipments from Bolivia to the United States, and then the shipments from Peru to the United States and Canada, which would later be known as the P and CP shipments. All this began from a simple phone call, and a passion for a lovable animal.
I will tell a little more of our story each month. Next month's article will begin with the 1984 Chilean shipment.
Read the next chapter
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