Charleston Farm Bed, Breakfast & Alpacas

I know what it’s like to be a child, deathly afraid of ANY 4 legged creature bigger than me . . . especially DOGS! Therefore, today I’m very sensitive to those who are afraid of our Alpacas and Great Pyrenees dogs. When my mother was a child, she was bitten by a “mean dog” that put a HUGE scare of FEAR within her soul. Therefore, the FEAR was passed down to my siblings and I.

Recently, my 89 1/2 year old mother, my sister and 3 of her grandchildren came over for a visit. To this day, my sister Mary Fran is still EXTREMELY afraid of dogs . . . needless to say, so are her 3 grandchildren that came to visit. Mary Fran has developed “some” courage over the years since we’ve had our animals, but has never felt “comfortable” around them.

Several people have asked us if the Great Pyrenees dog

would make a good family pet?

Scroll down and see for yourself how these “gentle giants”

are not only guardian of livestock but kid-friendly too!

Mom tickling her 2 year old great-grand-daughter’s back.

These next few pictures, watch how my great nephew, nieces . . .

AND their grandma, my sister, transform their FEAR into FEARLESSNESS!

However, it took several hours in one day for this event to occur.

My 2 year old great niece feeding an alpaca.

She shows no fear with the fence between her and the animal.

My 5 year old niece is trying to be brave for her baby sister.

“Maybe just one tiny touch on his nose.”

That’s not so bad . . . good job girls!


Wow! The girls are getting braver . . . a whole hand inside the fence and touching Max’s head!

Another good move!

A curious 5 year old always has questions.

Big brother arrived on the scene . . . he's not too sure what to think yet.

“Hum, my baby sister seems to be ok with her hand through the fence.”

“Woooo! What was that noise?!”

“Here’s a cute little guy, maybe I’ll try and pet him.”

“Since I pet the puppy, do I dare try to pet the BIG dog?!”

“I’m not too sure about this!”

In the meantime, the 2 year old is still showing no fear behind the fence.

“He tickled me!”

“Seriously . . . it’s not that bad!”

“See – let me show you . . . this is all you have to do.”

“That tickled!”

“Is Two-Tone Tina going to spit at me?”

“I’ll just stay here and watch.”

“Hum, maybe if I sit down here next to the dogs . . .

but I’m not too sure about those alpacas!”

“Ok, this is a good place to sit and observe the animals

while the dog is watching me.”

“I’ll give it a try . . . one little touch won’t hurt.”

“That wasn’t bad.”

“You know, I think I may like this!”

“Macy wants to sniff my fingers . . . cool!”

While Grandma is snuggling with her sweet grand-daughter,

look who’s in the background warming up to the dogs!

Next, I wanted to show my great-nephew how gentle and curious the alpacas are. We walked to the middle of the pasture, sat down and waited for the alpacas to come to us and sniff our hair.

Mary Fran noticed all the dogs were near the red barn with all the gates closed. She thought it was safe for her and the girls to step inside the pasture to be closer to the alpacas. Once the gate closed behind them, the dogs popped their heads up and started running towards them . . . not barking! I wish I had my camera with me . . .LOL . . . just to catch the expression of my sister’s face!! She forgot the dogs have a way to get under the fence. Now, it was time for Mary Fran to put on her “brave hat” for her grandchildren and not panic!

Everything went well! They all stood still and let the dogs sniff them. I was very impressed because there was no “panicking” happening!!! WHAT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT!! After a few minutes, the dogs went back to their favorite place to lie down and it seemed the fear was lifted!

My crazy sister wanted to see some “excitement” with the alpacas, so they decided to chase them.