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Local couple enjoys alpaca lifestyle

Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator /

Wednesday, 19 December 2007

At a glance

WHAT: Rosewood Alpacas
WHEN: 18101 Sycamore Ave., in Patterson
INFO: Bill and Suzanne Hoover, 892-7909

Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator

Bill and Suzanne Hoover elicited plenty of attention as they paraded a couple of alpacas through downtown Patterson earlier this month.

The Hoovers were preparing the two llama-like creatures for their television debut, a Quaker Oatmeal Simple Harvest granola bar commercial that was taped in Crows Landing and Newman on Dec. 6 and is slated to run in early February.

The Hoovers raise 34 of the South American animals off Sycamore Avenue east of Patterson and tout the joys of what they describe as the “alpaca lifestyle.”

“It’s an older, more relaxed way of life,” Suzanne Hoover said.

Alpacas have been common in the Andes mountain range of South America for centuries, but they have only been kept in the U.S. since 1984, according to the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association.

Today, it is estimated that there are about 76,000 alpacas in the United States, Bill Hoover said.

The camelids, with long legs, two-toed feet and doe-like eyes, look different from most North American mammals and seem almost as if they would be a good fit for the set of a Star Wars film. They are usually 3 feet tall, weigh 100 to 200 pounds each as adults and live about 20 years. The females experience an 11½-month-long pregnancy, and they are typically cranky during that period, Suzanne Hoover said.

Alpacas are somewhat gentle creatures, though the males can be fierce with each other when asserting dominance — and they spit.

The animals are raised for their fleece, which can produce fabric that Suzanne Hoover says is “as soft or softer than cashmere.”

Most of the Hoovers’ alpacas are of the typical sheep-like Huacaya variety. However, the family also raises a few of the rarer Suri variety, which have dreadlocked fleece. A couple of those alpacas are boarded off-site.

Suzanne Hoover spins her animals’ fleece into thread at home. The couple also sells fleece to customers in person and via an online cooperative.

Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator

They got into the business about four years ago after being interested in llamas for some time and seeing a television advertisement about raising alpacas.

The Hoovers say they have fallen in love with the business, and they know each of the creatures by name, though Suzanne Hoover also said raising them takes lots of work.

She often cares for the alpacas when they fall ill. For major operations, the Hoovers take their animals to a veterinarian in Woodland.

“It’s not a business to be taken lightly,” Suzanne Hoover said.

Sandra Wallace, who raises alpacas with her husband, David, in Paso Robles and offers seminars on the business, described them as “charming creatures.”

Some advantages of raising the animals is that they do not have to be butchered and they are not too difficult to raise. People who raise them must enjoy being outdoors, but they do not have to get up as early to tend to their animals as dairy farmers, she said.

The fleece can be used to produce a wide variety of products. Wallace said her animals’ fleece is used to produce clothing, jewelry and fishing lures, among other items.

Suzanne Hoover noted that the cooperative her and her husband are involved with also produces socks for U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq.

The industry is growing slowly in the U.S., as the supply of alpacas is still low and imports into the country are not allowed, Bill Hoover said. Compared with about 76,000 alpacas in the U.S., Peru has about 5 million of the animals, he said.

Closer to home, the group Calpaca, made up of alpaca ranchers from California and a few other Western states, has 249 members, said the group’s membership chairwoman, Lisa Theis.

Though the alpaca industry in North America is on the rise, the animals are still largely unknown.

On Dec. 5, the Hoovers got lots of attention as they led the two alpacas that would be in the Quaker Oatmeal commercial around downtown Patterson to get them used to being in a crowd.

Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator

“People were coming out of the woodwork,” Hoover said. “It was really nice.”

That commercial, featuring vignettes of a couple of women on a road trip, will likely air in early February, though it is unknown which scenes will make the final cut, said Leah Hammond Barrett, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based advertising agency Element 79.

The production house tracked down the Hoover family for the shoot, Hammond Barrett said.

“They were chosen because the director decided that the alpacas brought a little bit of whimsy and visual interest to the spot,” Hammond Barrett said.

Suzanne Hoover noted that it was raining during the day of the shoot, and the couple had to wait outside in stormy weather for hours before the conditions were right. When the sky cleared up, the spot was shot in a matter of minutes.

“It was probably the strangest day of my entire life,” she said.

The commercial could give the local alpacas national exposure. However, the Hoovers are most interested in getting their animals some local interest.

They hope children and youth groups, such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and 4-H members, visit their ranch and learn about the creatures.

“We just think they would get a big kick out of seeing them,” Suzanne Hoover said.

To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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