About Us

Firwood Farm Alpacas & Rescue is located about 30 miles south of Seattle in the heart of the beautiful Puyallup Valley. Firwood Farm is owned by Greg and Leanna Stidham and named after a neighborhood many “old timers” refer to as Firwood.  We have owned alpacas since 2006 and have done strictly ALPACA RE-HOME AND RESCUE with alpacas since 2012. 

RE-HOME:  Alpaca owners will contact us when they have alpacas they are unable to keep for some reason, i.e., moving, illness, divorce, death of a family member.  If we have room, we will take the alpacas in, make sure they are healthy and try to find a new home for them. 

RESCUE:   We define "rescue" alpacas as alpacas that are in a dire situation regarding their circumstances.   Lack of annual shearing, lack of a nutritous diet, inadequate pasture and/or space for grazing are some of the neglect situations we have seen. 

Before and after shearing pictures of Pandia (llama) and Sabrina (alpaca).  Snohomish County rescues in 2021.

We are an approved foster for Pierce County Animal Control in cases of alpaca and llama cruelty/neglect seizures.  We have also worked with King, Snohomish, and Thurston counties to take in alpacas and llamas.  We have taken in over 80 alpacas since starting our re-home and rescue program.  Some of these are "foster fails" and will live out their lives here as they require special care.  See our "Rescue Program" page for more information.

Some "alpaca rescues" say every animal they take in is a "rescue" because it sounds more serious (and tugs on donors heartstrings) when they are actually just a re-home from a place where they were take care of but the owners are no longer able to do so. This is why we feel it's important to clarify the difference.

WHO WE ARE:  At this time, we are a small farm situated on four acres of fertile valley soil which offers excellent forage for our alpacas. We work closely with others in the alpaca community, have tested our water, and researched the best combination of “chow” (grain) and hay that we feed to our alpacas. We strive to provide a safe and healthy environment for all alpacas on our farm.

We also believe you must provide a quality environment for your animals if you want to produce the quality fiber and quality offspring. There are many factors that contribute to this environment and following are just a few:

• Nutrition: To quote Dr. Norman Evans, noted alpaca veterinarian, “Anyone can feed but nutrition requires some effort.” Our alpacas have access to fertile pasture, orchard grass hay, and chow (grain) as well as natural well water that has been tested to confirm its quality. Healthy and well-cared for animals are our number one goal.
  
  
• Shelter: Alpacas require shelter from the wind and rain as well as a place to offer hay and supplements that are kept dry. All the alpacas at our farm are offered a dry and comfortable shelter.
  
  
• Veterinary Services: We have retained Drs. Scott and Jackie Waltner in Mt. Vernon, WA to provide our primary veterinary services. Dr. Jackie, as she is known in the alpaca community, specializes in alpaca care and Dr. Scott is highly knowledgeable regarding alpacas and nutrition. We are fortunate to have such high-quality care available to us.

While Firwood Farm Alpacas & Rescue is not a non-profit entity, proceeds from sales, tours, yoga classes and donations (which are not tax-deductible) are all used to support our alpaca rescue efforts.