A llama walks into a bar.
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It’s not a joke.
His name is Hamish and he’s been spotted wandering around Maitland during the past few weeks.
As he walked into the Grand Junction Hotel on Thursday the Mercury wasn’t the only one snapping his photo.
Hamish will be a part of a petting zoo at Tocal Field Days at the end of the month.
But in the lead-up Hamish’s owners, Sarah Jardine and Viv Rogers, have been trying to acclimatise him to crowds by taking him out on the town.
“He’s been to the pub, down the mall, through Newcastle, to the harbour,” Ms Jardine said.
“He went to Lleyland Brothers World to see Ayers Rock. That was his outback expedition.”
Ms Jardine said Hamish was a head turner, even among llama breeders, because of his signature smile.
“He’s got a funny smile, they don’t normally do it,” she said.
But locals have found his looks disarming.
Ms Jardine said it took two hours to walk him from one end of The Levee to the other because people kept asking to meet him.
“Cars stop, people stop and ask for photos,” she said.
“Grown men end up in tears with laughter.”
Hamish is prevalent on social media and has a popular Facebook account.
Ms Jardine said he really doesn’t need the socialisation – he’s friendly enough as it is.
“He’s the size of a horse but he’s nice and soft,”she said.
“He’s really good, he’s got a good temperament, he’s curious and he loves people.”
She said he doesn’t even spit. Which is good news, because he’d get kicked out of his local.