PAGE A14, KEIZERTIMES, OCTOBER 29, 2021
Celebrity llama Caesar stars in new
children’s book about fi nding community
BY RACHEL ALEXANDER
Salem Reporter
Bee Dugan had never met Marion
County’s most famous llama when she
began idly sketching him on a TriMet
ride in 2019.
Dugan, a music teacher from
Portland, said she came across Caesar
the No-Drama Llama on social media.
The therapy llama, who lives in Jeff erson,
travels around the region attending
farmers markets, nonprofi t fundraisers
and other events.
“I was just hit by a sudden inspira-
tion: the name of this llama … sounds
like a children’s book,” Dugan said. “This
whole story came to my mind.”
Dugan had drawn sketches before,
but had no previous experience as an
author or artist. Still, she said the idea
felt right.
"I would say God nudged me," she
said. “I tend to do a lot of random things
on intuition.”
She sent a copy of her sketch to the
llama’s Facebook account and began
talking with owner Larry McCool, who
agreed to work with her on a book.
Two years later, Dugan’s debut book,
Caesar the No Drama Llama is available
in bookstores including Powell's, as well
as online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Caesar the No Drama Llama with owner, Larry McCool during the 2018 Keizer Holliday
Parade. FILE PHOTO, Keizertimes
The 32-page story, written and illus-
trated by Dugan, chronicles Caesar’s
journey as he searches for a place with
no drama.
Dugan says the llama’s journey in
the book mirrors her journey in life.
For years, she said she thought she’d be
happy once she found the perfect group
of friends or the perfect living situation.
“I was looking for a place that had no
drama, I was looking for perfection,” she
said. Eventually, she realized she had to
make her own happiness.
“What fi lls you up is more about what
you’re giving out so that’s what the book
is basically telling you - it’s this char-
acter going on this journey,” she said.
“Ultimately the aim of the book is to
teach people about identity, love, com-
munity and how to navigate that.”
The real Caesar, who recently cele-
brated his seventh birthday, was a fi xture
at Salem-area events before the pan-
demic. He has recently begun venturing
out more again, McCool said.
Dugan fi rst met Caesar in 2019 at a
farmer’s market in Lake Oswego. She
discussed her vision for the book with
McCool.
By that point, she said she had the
text mostly complete, but the illustra-
tions became the bulk of the work.
Dugan later moved to the Oregon
Coast and had a visit from Caesar in
August 2020, when McCool brought the
llama out to take photos on the beach.
Those became reference shots for Dugan
as she worked on illustrations.
Dugan said Caesar’s demeanor
is right between cats, who often run
away from humans trying to pet them,
and dogs who overwhelm people with
oopsy
happens
enthusiasm.
“This llama is very calm. He’ll
approach you a bit but he mostly just
has this stillness about him,” she said.
Getting to know him better at the beach
helped her fi nish the book.
Dugan said she hopes the book espe-
cially resonates with people with disabil-
ities or others who have been made to
feel diff erent from their peers.
“This book is for everyone, but I think
in a special sense it’s (for people) who
function a bit diff erently and might feel
like an oddball,” she said.
The paperback was released Sept. 27
on Amazon. McCool said he’s not sure
yet how many copies have been sold, but
the llama’s social media following - more
than 17,000 on Facebook alone - have
helped spread the word.
The pair worked with Friesen Press,
a Canadian publishing company that
helps authors self-publish books.
Proceeds for the paperback, available
on Amazon for $10.99, are split evenly
between Dugan and McCool. McCool
said his share will be donated to various
charities Caesar supports.
“If this blows up and it makes us lots
of money there’s lots of things I’d like to
do, but I know it’s not going to be that
kind of a book,” McCool said.
Dugan’s hope is that the book can
help her cover living expenses.
“I don’t even have a car. I’m hoping
this book will help me aff ord a car,” she
said.
McCool said he’s working to sched-
ule book signing events in Salem and
around western Oregon, where Caesar
will be able to sign books via a stamp of
his hoof.
“He’s going to be standing right next
to the author,” he said.
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