Little Man, the guard llama with a big heart

He was called Little Man, a white llama with gentle brown eyes, and he took his guard job seriously.

When the recent Cajon Pass brush fire roared through Hesperia rancher Bruce Schumacher’s 10-acre property, the llama protected his flock of about 30 red sheep with his own body. He suffered smoke inhalation and singed eyelids, feet and rib area; his thick, woolly coat had burned off.

But he saved his sheep. Every one of them.

In the end, however, the heroics appear to have cost Little Man his life. Schumacher said Sunday that his llama has died, despite his veterinarian’s prognosis that he would fully recover. He speculated that Little Man, who died Thursday, had suffered fatal damage to his lungs from the smoke inhalation.

“He sacrificed his life for his sheep,” Schumacher said, choking up. “He’ll always be a hero to me.”

The llama’s death was the latest blow to Schumacher, a 66-year-old psychiatric technician at Patton State Hospital who was on the verge of retiring and planned to start two livestock businesses. Those dreams, however, were destroyed by the 1,200-acre fire, which was ignited Sept. 2 and forced the evacuation of 1,500 residents near the Cajon Pass, destroyed several structures and snarled Labor Day weekend traffic for hours.

Schumacher lost his home, vehicles and more than 100 goats, birds, rabbits and other animals. Making matters worse, he said, he did not have homeowner’s insurance for his fully paid-for home. His policy had been canceled seven years ago, and he had not been able to find an affordable replacement since then, he said.

But Schumacher said he has received scores of calls, visits and emails from friends and strangers offering to help him rebuild. This weekend, 23 volunteers from his hospital came out to help clean up, restore the burned land and prepare to rebuild his animal pens and sheds.

A fund on behalf of Schumacher has been established through the High Desert Community Foundation and Desert Community Bank. Donors can contribute online; by mail, P.O. Box 2028, Apple Valley, CA, 92307; or through any Desert Community Bank branch.

“What I need to do is start up again,” Schumacher said. “I’m 66, and I think I have more work to do.”

One of his first jobs, Schumacher said, will be to erect a memorial for Little Man and the other animals who perished.

The rancher said he bought the llama nearly two years ago after coyotes killed 38 of his sheep. Once Little Man arrived, he said, the killings stopped — not only of sheep but also of cats and dogs. Schumacher said the llama would make clucking noises whenever a coyote came around, scaring it off. He speculated that the llama’s scent wafted throughout the animal yard, protecting the entire area.

When Schumacher was allowed to return to the ruins of his property, he found the sheep still huddled under and around Little Man, too fearful to leave their protector.

“Llamas are devoted animals, just like a dog,” he said. “If you bond with them, they will give up their life for you.”

teresa.watanabe@latimes.com