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About the owners |
William (Skipper) has been raising and caring for animals his entire life.
Growing up on a farm outside Montgomery, Alabama provided the backdrop for his
career as a veterinarian and an animal lover. After graduating from Auburn
University School of Veterinary Medicine, Skipper relocated to Atlanta, Georgia
where along with his
wife, Kathy, built a busy and successful small animal
practice. After practicing small animal medicine for twenty years, Skipper
decided to sell his practice and devote his time to teaching high school biology
and raising three sons.
Kathy graduated from Auburn University and with a degree in accounting has lent her business expertise first to the small animal veterinary practice, raising a family and now to the growing business of alpaca farm management.
As a family we have been involved in the animal industry for over 30 years.
Along with our three now grown sons, we owned and bred nationally recognized
Simmental cattle. We also owned and operated one of the first cattle embryo
transfer facilities in the Southeast. Over the years we have owned and cared for
a vast assortment of animals first on our farm in North Atlanta and now in the
mountains of Dahlonega, Georgia.
In October 2003 we were introduced to alpacas and by January 2004 we purchased
our first alpacas. We decided to make our hom e on 130 acres of mountain property
we had purchased in 1994. Construction of our barn and fences was completed in
the summer of 2004 and we moved there along with seven alpacas and two Great
Pyrenees puppies. The move from Atlanta to Dahlonega was part of a decision to
recapture the rural lifestyle that we had enjoyed for so many years in Atlanta
before being crowded out by burgeoning subdivisions and traffic. The rolling
hills and mountain streams of north Georgia provide a pastoral landscape for
Garland Farm Alpacas and we think it is just about the prettiest farm in all of
Georgia. Our herd has now grown to over twenty alpacas. While we are focusing
primarily on suri alpacas, we breed and maintain a few select huacaya females.
Careful selection has gone into the purchase of our foundation herd. We have
sought out the finest genetics from farms across the country based on fiber
quality, color and overall conformation. From this foundation, we are striving
to offer a premier herd of alpacas for breeders not only in the Southeast but
all across the country. We are dedicating considerable time and effort into
showing our alpacas at AOBA sanctioned shows so that we are able to evaluate our
alpacas and continue to add excellence to our herd. Our goal is to always
maintain the highest standards for our farm and our alpacas. We are dedicated to
the same excellence in animal care and breeding that has been our hallmark for
so many years.
What you can expect
We are committed to helping you. If you are a first time buyer, we will provide
the support and advice that will make your purchase a successful and enjoyable
experience. We are available to consult with you at any time and are always open
to questions. You will have many!!! For all of our customers, we offer free
agistment (alpaca boarding) for 60 days after your purchase. We will also be
glad to agist your alpacas for a nominal daily fee after the free period. All
Garland Farm breeding females and herdsires come with a breeding warranty. We
are available to help you with herd health management and selection of breeding
herdsires. Most of all we want your association with Garland Farm Alpacas to be
satisfying. We want you to love owning and raising alpacas as much as we do!
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