While flipping through a magazine nine years ago, Jan O’Neill came across a picture that inspired her future retirement plan.
It wasn’t a home in Florida, nor a photo of someone traveling an exotic land. It was a photo of a unusual, furry animal with a long neck and legs: an alpaca.
Now in retirement, O’Neill and her husband, Richard, raise about 43 alpacas on their Clare Limerick Alpaca Ranch at 5681 Rives Junction Road.
The journey started in 2002 when the couple bought four pregnant females. “We were fortunate in what we bought,” O’Neill said.
Image, one of the newborn babies, or crias, won a national level blue ribbon during the O’Neills’ first show season. The couple continue to show about four times a year, Richard said.
“When you go to a show, you meet up with all your friends,” Jan said. “Alpaca owners are the friendliest, nicest, helpful people.”
Along with friends and showing, Richard and Jan said watching the crias play is the best part of owning alpacas.
“When we first got them, we used to take lawn chairs out by the fence, bring lemonade and sit and watch,” Jan said.
Still, hard work is involved on a daily basis to take care of the South American species, Jan said.
“It’s made us closer in having to work together to take care of them,” Richard said.
The past nine years have been a fun adventure in getting know the alpacas and how to take care of them, Richard said.
“We used to say, ‘Become enchanted with the alpaca lifestyle,’” Jan laughed. “It connects you with nature. You can’t beat that.”
(I loved working on this package because --
1. I have always had a slight obsession with alpacas. Most likely because they're so awkward looking.
2. I was at the ranch immediately after the cria in the fifth photo was born.. The O'Neills named the little boy Ashton after me!
3. I was able to use funny alpaca terms like "pronk" on a regular basis.)
