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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Living the alpaca life

photo Susan Goodwin gets a nuzzle from Raven, a 1-week-old alpaca, at Foster’s Trail & Alpaca Farm in Bradley County. Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press

Raven made her entrance into the world nose and feet first, “a perfect textbook birth,” said Susan Goodwin, owner of Foster’s Trail & Alpaca Farm.

The newborn alpaca weighed 18.1 pounds. After spending bonding time in the barn, Raven and her mom, Vanessa, went to the pasture to rejoin their herd.

“All the adults and babies in the pasture rushed over to say hello to the new arrival,” Goodwin said.

She finds alpacas to be therapeutic and loves having them around her while she does farm chores.

Goodwin, originally from Cleveland, Tenn., lived in Atlanta for more than 20 years with her husband, Peter. They moved back to Bradley County in 2006 to find a more relaxing lifestyle.