NORCO, Calif. — Everybody loves Matilda.
She can't walk 5 feet down the streets here without someone stopping their car to say hello. Storeowners pop their heads out of their shops and wave. Children ride their bicycles nearby, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the most talked about gals in town.
Matilda, a 20-month-old dromedary camel, is one of two camels in town. She weighs 850 pounds and is 6 feet tall at her one hump. When fully grown, she will reach 8 feet and 2,000 pounds. Dromedary camels have only one hump, in which they store fat, not water.
Owner George Stone, a marriage and family therapist, uses Matilda in weekly sessions he runs with children at Victor Children's Services in nearby Riverside and San Bernardino. Most of the children have been abused and neglected, but come out of their shells when Matilda is around, Stone said.
"The kids calm right down when they see her," said Dr. Ed Schroll, executive director of Victor Children's Services. "It's so unique. They would never get to see a camel unless they went to the zoo."
The camel, which acts like more a puppy than a pack animal, is also therapy for Stone, 43, who lost his wife, Beth, in 2000 to colon cancer.
Every day, Stone and Matilda walk three to five miles. Sometimes they walk with Stone's Icelandic mare Hattie to a local doughnut shop. Stone carries a wood cane and wears a hat woven from llama hair. Matilda walks behind, occasionally nudging him with her nose.
On a recent weekday, Stone wondered if they would ever make it to the doughnut shop. Dane Sergi, 12, stopped his bike to pet Matilda. At the Norco Ranch Outfitters, Tami Gardetto and her 4-year-old twins, Kristin and Justin, came to see her, too.
"We were just driving by and we had to stop because we saw a camel," said Gardetto. "I couldn't believe it."
When Stone and Matilda finally reached the doughnut shop, a dozen people crowded around to take pictures and pet Matilda, who was more than happy to oblige, as long as she received her favorite treat.
"She loves jelly doughnuts," said Stone, red jelly starting to spread over Matilda's large mouth as she chewed. "I always buy two, but she doesn't like to share."
Stone said he bought Matilda from a camel ranch in Northern California when he decided he wanted an animal he could ride. He had raised llamas with his wife, but they can't be ridden. Before Beth died, they talked about getting a camel and naming her Matilda.
Once he bought Matilda, she was placed in petting zoos at various county fairs throughout California and Oregon. She was hugged and touched by hundreds of children, making her the sweet, sensitive animal she is today, said Stone.
Michael Dee, general curator of the Los Angeles Zoo, said camels can make great pets, but they need to be watched carefully.
"Like any animal, you don't want to walk right up to it and start touching it," said Dee. "Even a hand-raised camel can get excited and jump around. It's like a horse, only bigger."
Stone said camels are usually trained by beating them with a stick. That teaches them to become angry easily, and that is when they start to spit or kick. Matilda, however, has been raised with love and has never spit or kicked anyone, Stone said.
"I think she brings people together," Stone said. "I think she makes everyone around her happy."