Rojo the Llama was a

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

and therapy animal based in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

region of the United States. His handler was Shannon Joy of Mountain Peaks Therapy Llamas and Alpacas, also known as the "Llama Mama". He was named after his red coloring ("rojo" means "red" in Spanish). Rojo was a show animal in a

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

program and entered Dove Lewis' Animal-Assisted Therapy Training program at the age of 5. He was the grand marshal of Portland's Junior Rose Festival in 2013, and appeared at the city's Grand Floral Parade in 2019. Joy raised more than $8,000 to publish a children's book about Rojo called ''Rojo, The Perfectly Imperfect Llama''. In 2018, Joy and Rojo appeared at the Ilani Casino Resort to audition for the twentieth season of the reality television series '' Big Brother''. Rojo has been described as "Portland's most famous therapy animal". In 2019, after being a therapy animal for twelve years, Rojo retired and returned to his owner's

Ridgefield, Washington Ridgefield is a city in northern Clark County, Washington, Clark County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 10,319 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and according to 2023 census estimates, the city is e ...

farm. After experiencing declining health, Rojo died on the morning of November 6, 2019. His owners are having his body preserved and donated to the wildlife safari room at the Washington School for the Blind.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Rojo the Llama is Announced as Grand Marshal for the Junior Parade
(May 29, 2013), Portland Rose Festival
Rojo the Llama in studio
(October 24, 2016),

KGW KGW (channel 8) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Jefferson Street in southwestern Portland, and its transmitter is located in the city's ...

2019 animal deaths Assistance animals Individual animals in the United States Individual camelids Llamas