GRAND-BARACHOIS, N.B. -- A New Brunswick business is bringing the farm to the beach, much to the delight of animal lovers.
Josee Gautreau owns a hobby farm in Haute-Aboujagane, N.B. When she posted videos to social media of her llamas walking on the beach she was surprised by the reaction they received.
“People just went wild over it. I got so many messages of people wanting to come with me or just witness it,” says Gautreau.
“Alpacas and llamas aren’t really animals people are used to seeing out and about. It’s quite original. They’re funky, they’re funny, they’re fluffy and cute.”
The positive reaction inspired Gautreau to create Llama-zing Adventures, a business that offers the public the chance to go on a beach walk or river hike with a four-legged friend.
A former horseback riding instructor and dog groomer, Gautreau has always been passionate about working with animals.
“I train them myself. I do all the work. All my animals I’ve got, the two llamas and two alpacas, I got them untrained, unhandled. So it’s been a lot of training put into them, a lot of sweat and tears,” says Gautreau.
Monica Cormier has been riding horses since she was six, often spending time walking with animals. However, she’s never had the chance to experience that with an alpaca.
“It’s a stress reliever, you don’t have to worry about anything. They’re quite nice, so you just have to walk with them and have a great laugh,” says Cormier.
Llama-zing Adventures will soon offer birthday party opportunities, open farm visits, and even relaxation exercises.
“We're going to do some mixture of workshops with the animal therapy and meditations and all kinds of stuff like that,” says Gautreau.
