Walk with a Llama this summer in Pitt Meadows

Residents of Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge can now enjoy leisurely strolls with Llamas.

Alexa Ross and Merilee Gordon of Pitt Meadows, have started Travelling Llamas, to offer walking tours with Llamas. Between the two, they have six Llamas. They are also taking their Llamas to birthday parties, wedding photoshoots, etc. The two, whose daughters Zoya Ross and Ariella Muncaster are part of the Otter Llama 4-H club, and have spent hours training the Llamas, decided to turn their love for Llamas into a money-making venture during the last year.

“Last year during COVID and shutdown and stuff like that, we still had to care for our Llamas. So one afternoon, four of us moms from the 4-H club, were sitting around chatting and thought we should make a business out of this. By that point all of us had taken a Llama to a birthday party, or to visit a sick friend, so we kept talking about how we are going to do all that,” said Gordon.

Last month they received their business licence and they have already attended a dozen parties, their August is booked solid, and they even have an ugly sweater party for December.

Their main attraction however is going to be the Llama walking tours. Within a day of posting about these walking tours, the two received over 80 requests.

“We are starting to do walks. Most people coming are a parent with a small child. So parents can hold the lead rope and help the child, and then some of the groups are all adults,” said Ross.

“The idea is to take people out on scenic walks with Llamas so they can get to experience this beautiful animal as well as learn more about Llamas.”

The intention behind these tours is also to give their kids a chance to socialize and educate the public about Llamas.

“The thing that our kids missed out on last year with COVID was that the main part of 4-H is not just taking care of Llamas but educating the public about Llamas. We realized they don’t get to socialize and answer questions, so doing these events and walks, allows them to go out there and kind of do the same stuff they were doing while in 4-H even when 4-H isn’t fully functioning,” Ross added.

Ross also said that they will soon be adding more walking tour dates to their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/travelingllamasmr.

The two other families involved in the Travelling Llamas are Karen Rayner and her daughter Eva Geddes, and Becky Steiger and her son Bon, and daughter Cassidy. Steiger moved to Powell River in March this year and will be setting up Travelling Llamas there with three of her Llamas.

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