It was the talk of the town for months. A herd of alpacas taking up residence in this palatial neighborhood in Paradise Valley.
"It's good news for us as neighbors," said Robert Backie.
Backie was at the head of a pack of angry residents calling on the town to do something about the animals.
"Especially Paradise Valley, people have a certain level of living that they expect and having a working functioning alpaca farm or any type of farm next to them is not what they expect or want to, it hurts home values," Backie said.
The frustration stemmed from the inundation of flies, noise, and smell brought on by the roughly 65 alpacas.
Over the last several months, town officials have put the owners of the livestock on notice, ordering them to be removed.
"Back in August, we approached the property resident and said you can't do this, this is a violation," said Town Manager Kevin Burke.
But after months of warnings, citations, and checks by us, the alpacas hadn't moved.
That is until this weekend when the animals were finally transported to a West Valley farm.
While the alpacas have been packed up, it's what they left behind that has neighbors continuing to make a stink.
"There is the smell, that needs to be treated on the property," Backie said.
And if it isn't, the owners could still face some fines from the town's leaders.
Those owners refused to tell ABC15 where the alpacas are or how they're doing as they left court Monday.
However, they did tell the judge when asked if they would eventually bring them back.
"They are gone for good," the alpaca owner said in court.
A good answer but neighbors say only time will tell if it's the truth.
"The alpacas have moved out, it's good news for us as neighbors that's the beginning of the end of the smell," Backie said.
