Flanked by a gaggle of smartphone-wielding onlookers, Irish farmer Joe Phelan ushered two alpacas down the corridor of a local nursing home as beaming residents waited their turn to pet them.
Oakfield nursing home resident Minnie Byrne, 92, reaches out to pet an alpaca called Stan as owner and founder of K2Alpacas Joe Phelan holds their leads during a therapeutic alpaca visit he provides as a service for residents of care homes, in Courtown, Ireland. (Reuters)
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A decade after ditching his office job for farming, 64-year-old "Alpaca Joe" has found a new job for his herd of 71 woolly South American camelids: animal therapy for the elderly and people with additional needs.
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Residents of Oakfield nursing home looks on at alpacas called Stan and Frank as owner and founder of K2Alpacas Joe Phelan holds their leads during a therapeutic alpaca visit he provides as a service for residents of care homes, in Courtown, Ireland. (Reuters)
"They get to feel them. They look into their big, huge brown eyes, which, you know, just are so relaxing. And they might hear them humming," Phelan said.
"We work with local schools with their special-needs classes, and the teachers tell us that the impact on the kids is really positive."
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Owner and founder of K2Alpacas Joe Phelan leads his alpacas called Stan and Frank into Oakfield nursing home for a therapeutic alpaca visit he provides as a service for residents of care homes, in Courtown, Ireland. (Reuters)
Phelan initially looked into the more traditional types of farming that his family had been involved in for hundreds of years, but said he could not see a way to sustain a living.
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Oakfield nursing home resident Molly Kenny pets an Alpaca called Stan while Frank stands next to him, as owner and founder of K2Alpacas Joe Phelan holds their leads during a therapeutic Alpaca visit he provides as a service for residents of care homes, in Courtown, Ireland. (Reuters)
Instead he started researching alternative farming options. He eventually bought seven alpacas and sold his home to buy a farm to graze them.
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Oakfield nursing home resident Sean Keogh, 70, pets an alpaca called Stan as owner and founder of K2Alpacas Joe Phelan holds his lead during a therapeutic alpaca visit he provides for residents of care homes, in Courtown, Ireland. (Reuters)
He started off with "alpaca & prosecco" treks and stocked a shop with alpaca wool socks and soft toys. But he soon noticed their potential to ease anxiety among older visitors and those with additional needs.
"We noticed that we were having a really positive impact on people with special needs, be it kids with autism, be it adults or adolescents with Down syndrome ... We just found that it lifted everybody's spirits," Phelan said in an interview at the K2Alpacas farm in Newtownmountkennedy, around 30 km (19 miles) south of Dublin.
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Alpaca stand in a field on owner and founder of K2Alpacas Joe Phelan's alpaca farm, home to 71 alpacas which are used for agricultural tourism and therapy services, in Newtownmountkennedy, Ireland. (Reuters)
The business now employs 11 people, has 71 alpacas and two much larger llamas, and offers accommodation to visitors.
Phelan packed two of his more sociable male alpacas into the back of a van for the trip to Oakfield Nursing Home.
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Owner and founder of K2Alpacas Joe Phelan herds his alpacas as he takes some of them for a walk on his alpaca farm, home to 71 alpacas which are used for agricultural tourism and therapy services, in Newtownmountkennedy, Ireland. (Reuters)
"We know that we have certain boys and girls that are suitable for the therapeutic work," he said. He still had to gently scold the selected alpacas when they took a rest beside the patients.
The nursing home's activities coordinator, Sineád Meegan, came across the herd on TikTok. She said the residents were thrilled with the visit and she would invite them back again soon, "just to see the smiles on the faces".
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Owner and founder of K2Alpacas Joe Phelan takes some of his alpacas for a walk on his alpaca farm, home to 71 alpacas which are used for agricultural tourism and therapy services, in Newtownmountkennedy, Ireland
"I think it triggered a lot of memories for people that would have grown up on farms," she said.