While he may not be the standard Illawarra vet patient, Sunny the baby Alpaca has stolen the heart of a Kiama-based vet nurse.
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Tanya Mikosic has been treating three-month-old Sunny at a Kiama, NSW, vet clinic since May, and after a rocky few months, she's turning to the community for help.
After suffering from a broken leg in May, Sunny now needs a life-saving leg amputation.
Her caretaker found Sunny with a broken leg in May and immediately brought the little alpaca to a Kiama vet clinic.
The vet did radiographs and splinted 6-week-old Sunny's leg, but in between bandage changes, the leg developed a severe infection.
After trying first to treat it conservatively with antibiotics, the team found the infection had already progressed too far.
Now, Sunny needs a full leg amputation to survive.
The surgery may cost up to $2500 including aftercare, an amount out of reach for Sunny's caretaker.
"He loves her to pieces but now he just couldn't afford surgery," Ms Mikosic said.
For Ms Mikosic, who is nicknamed Sunny's 'mum' around the vet clinic, letting Sunny go would be too heartbreaking.
She's launched a Gofundme to help fund the surgery and has already raised $600.
"She's my baby," Ms Mikosic said.
"She follows the staff around the clinic, she's the sweetest animal I've ever met."
After the surgery, Sunny will be left with three legs, but Ms Mikosic is hopeful she'll still be able to live a happy life.
"Alpacas can survive with three legs,and she hasn't been bearing weight on that leg since she broke it."
With potential flooding and relentless rain forecast for the next week, a member of the community has volunteered to take Sunny in and provide her with temporary shelter.
With the help of the community, Ms Mikosic hopes Sunny will be back on three legs as soon as possible.