A pack of smiles: Local barn animal delivers joy to assisted living center

Everlast’s mop of curly hair and long neck make him the perfect height for looking people in the eye. He is smaller than an average alpaca, but as a therapy animal, he is just right.

Lynn Cherish, the owner and operator of Baggy Britches Farm in Frederick, has turned a rough start in life for a prematurely born alpaca into an opportunity to bring happiness to patients in assisted living centers. On Wednesday, they visited Montevue Assisted Living in Frederick.

“The residents enjoy it,” said Ryan Stanley, Montevue activities director. “They light up and enjoy it.”

Together, Cherish and Everlast visit six assisted living and nursing homes through Pets on Wheels, which takes therapy animals to more than 400 facilities across Maryland, Executive Director Gina Kazimir wrote in an email.

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