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good for three days,” Garcia said, adding Jesse will still have food and water left when they re- turn home. Unlike dogs, alpacas don’t leave their busi- ness all over the yard. Domesticated alpacas poo and pee in the same place in a corner of the yard like a cat. Alpacas eat alfalfa and grass so they’re easy to clean up after. “I guess it’s just natural behavior for them to go in the same place,” Garcia said. Jesse eats on the cheap, too. A bale of hay for $20 and he’s good for a month, said Garcia, who manages an exotic luxury car dealership in North Scottsdale, Lapin Motor Co. Alpacas look like llamas but are far small- er. They top out at 130 pounds in a full coat of fleece. Once sheared they weigh much less. A full-grown alpaca may weigh less than a Saint Bernard or Mastiff. By contrast, a llama can reach six feet tall and weigh up to 500 pounds. Alpacas and llamas are both native to South America’s Andes Mountain region in Peru, Bo- livia and Chile. They are both members of the camel family. Jesse is trained on a leash and Garcia said he’s easy to take on walks. “The Maricopa Fire Department showed up at the park and posed with him for a photo,” Garcia remembered fondly. For fun, Garcia has been known to walk Jesse around the neighborhood on Halloween, dressing him up as a quadrupedal Batman. Jesse in March had an encounter with the Maricopa Police Department when someone left Garcia’s backyard gate open and the friend- ly alpaca hoofed it out, ending up in his favorite neighborhood park, munching on grass. He was quietly leashed up and escorted home with the help of a local cop without chase nor incident. Facebook was abuzz with Homestead North residents talking about a wayward alpaca they spotted near the lake and HOA representatives only laughed when a reporter asked about the itinerant animal. Garcia is now sure to lock his gates to keep Jesse from going on the llama, ahem, lam. The Garcias have since adopted a Maltipoo into the family, meaning Jesse has a new little puppy pal. For fun, Garcia said Jesse loves to play with his toys, especially a soccer ball, which he knocks about the yard with his head. “There’s nothing funnier than watching an alpaca play with a soccer ball,” Garcia said.
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legal to own in all 50 states, 15 without restric- tions, including Arizona where Jesse is one of 4,037 members of his species. It’s even legal to eat one, but don’t tell Jesse. “I really needed a companion, but I real- ly didn’t want a dog,” Garcia said of the fleecy friend he bought as a bachelor who now lives a low-profile lifestyle in his backyard. While on a walk around the neighborhood, he said he saw a sign advertising exotic animals for sale. That led him to a farm in Surprise where he was first introduced to an alpaca. Then, he ventured to another farm and found his best friend forever. That was five years ago, and Garcia said
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This pet is so quiet and low-key, you’ll hear no complaints from the neighbors nor HOA. If this sounds like a good fit, you might be in the market for an alpaca out back-a. Homestead North resident Oscar Garcia can tell you all about his love for the 130-pound pet alpaca, Jesse, that he endearingly calls Fausto. It’s “a nice, traditional Mexican name,” he said, and it means lucky or fortunate. Jesse, who turned 6 last month, was Garcia’s life partner before he got married. Alpacas are
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when he and his wife, Veronica, alpaca their bags for weekend trip, it’s no problem with Jesse. “The nice thing about him is as long as he has good water and good food, he is pretty much
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