Residents of Culduthel Care Home in Inverness fell head over hooves for fluffy friends at a recent visit to Loch Ness Alpacas.

The care home, run by Meallmore Ltd, hosted a trip to the farm, allowing residents Murdoch McPherson and Doreen Mackay the chance to meet the gentle creatures at the unique alpaca experience on the shores of Loch Ness.

With 12 alpacas at the Dores farm, including Apollo, Gemini and Orbit, Murdoch and Doreen had a ‘meet and greet’ with the animals and the opportunity to feed them.

Animal-assisted therapy is very beneficial in older people’s care, as physical contact encourages communication, can reduce stress and anxiety, and even improve motor skills and self-esteem.

Denise Scott, care home manager of Culduthel said: “It’s not every day you get up close to an alpaca, and so Murdoch and Doreen were overjoyed following their trip to the farm. Doreen had never seen an alpaca before, and Murdoch particularly enjoyed feeding the creatures some carrots. He mentioned that he wished he could bring one back to the care home – although I don’t think we quite have space for an alpaca at Culduthel just yet!”

“As well as being lots of fun, animal therapy is also hugely important for our residents. It is really relaxing for them to meet animals like the alpacas who live at Loch Ness Alpacas farm. At Meallmore we’re committed to delivering exceptional standards of care and activities to our residents and this visit is just one of the ways in which we strive to enrich the lives of our residents. We can’t wait to host another trip later in the year.”

Fiona Cairns from Loch Ness Alpacas added: “We recently hosted some of the residents from Culduthel Care Home. We brought our alpaca Apollo out to meet one of the residents, Murdoch, so he could get a bit closer. They were best friends immediately, so I left them to it; I then turned around to find Apollo lying by Murdoch’s chair, both ‘happy as Larry’. This is just one example of how alpacas are so in tune with the needs of individual people. It was brilliant to see.”    

Culduthel Care Home, located on West Heather Road, is run by Meallmore Ltd and provides excellent standards of care for its residents, including those living with dementia.