Animal rescue requires a leap of faith.The caregivers at the Animal Rescue League shelter an animal that's been abandoned or neglected, in hope that someone will give it a home. Adopters take on responsibility for the well-being of an animal whose complete history is often obscure. You sign a contract and hope for the best.

We 've adopted our new llama following a gut instinct. His behavior is cautious and understandably so given the hand he's been dealt. There isn't the slightest sign of aggression. We know that he was brought to the shelter in September after escaping from his previous home somewhere in Massachusetts and running loose for 2 months.

His prior owners had acquired him at auction. He appears to be about 7 years old and is in good health. At the shelter he was tested for various diseases (all negative), innoculated, castrated (no wonder people make him nervous) and placed in a paddock with three sheep, adjacent to a paddock of horses and one pig.

While he is perfectly calm with sheep and other animals, he is very wary of people. They told us he is a spitter, but so far he hasn't spit once in the handling we did yesterday (haltering, leading, trailering, leading into a strange barn). Not at us, nor at the sheep. He didn't spit at Caitlyn either when she came up to inspect him.

He's a gentle, thoughtful animal. We've placed him with Mistral's group – last year's lambs. It frees up Crackerjack to be with our expectant ewes. For the lambs, it was love at first sight. They gathered round his legs with welcoming sniffs, tilting their wooly heads way back for a good look at the new tall, dark and handsome guy. I am in awe of how mellow this llama is given everything he has been through.

We're taking a leap of faith that he will learn in time to trust us. Mistral and her friends are modeling good barn behavior. We're giving him space, letting him get use to our voices and routines.

And making sure all doors and gates are secure.

(Now you know why I am so grateful to Crackerjack for telling me we have faulty gate latches earlier this week!)

You've asked about his name. The Shelter told us his name was Louis, aka Louie the Llama. We wanted to think about that.

I found a Llama Name Generator online (Mike said I was crazy when I went looking and was then shocked that such a thing even existed. hah!). The first name it spit out was "Marni Cuca Chicken". Pretty lame as a llama name (so much for Llama Name Generators).

Given this guy's history we thought of names that had to do with roaming: Cruiser, Drifter, Roamin', Roving. But after reading comments from readers yesterday we've decided to name him "Sol" for his arrival on the winter solstice. The white blaze on his face is like a flash of sunlight. Thanks for the great suggestion.

He is our Sol Llama.