It was among a flurry of barking dogs and squeals of children's excitement that a long-awaited sheep called Amy walked regally across the tarmac of a regional airport in Tasmania, and straight into the arms of her new family.
Fresh off a plane trip across the Bass Strait, the arrival of the 55-kilogram ewe marked the start of one farming family's long-held dream — to become breeders of the "cutest sheep in the world".
When the Pearson family packed up their cattery and boarding kennel in Victoria to move to their dream Tasmanian hobby farm, they only needed one more thing to make their little household complete.
Luckily for them, their move was shortly followed by news a rare sheep breed from the Swiss Alps had finally landed on Australian shores — the Valais blacknose.
Cathy Pearson said she first heard of the Valais when she and her husband were farming alpacas in Mildura.
"I just saw it on Facebook one time. Somebody popped it on my page, saying, 'You should look into these', and I absolutely loved them. They just look like big stuffed animals," she gushed.
But the Pearsons had to wait, as the breed was not available in Australia at the time.
A rare breed
For centuries the ancient breed was almost exclusively raised in the Upper Valais of Switzerland, a region famous for the Matterhorn mountain once featured on Toblerone chocolate.
The Swiss's tight reins on the woolly, black-and-white animal loosened in 2013 when the first Valais blacknoses were imported to the British Isles, before finally making their way to Australia in 2021.
Since then, the breed's Disney-cartoon-like cuteness and rarity — there are less than 19,000 in the world — seem to have captured a lucrative, niche market, with buyers often forking out more than $25,000 for a breeding ewe.
"I waited and waited, and inquired, and waited, and it finally came," Mrs Pearson said.
"They're actually getting more endangered in Switzerland due to the wolf re-population over there. There are not many purebreds around.
"They're a meat and wool sheep but I can't imagine anyone wanting to eat them.
"They're so great for hobby farms that just want animals around to help keep on top of the grass."
A sheep called Amy
The Pearson family is one of just three registered breeders in Tasmania.
After dipping their toes in the industry last year with a purebred Valais named Ari, the Pearsons couldn't wait to buy their second purebred.
They chose Amy, a one-year-old ewe from Victoria, and earlier this month flew her over to Devonport on a chartered plane loaded with pets.
"We describe them as the labradoodle of the sheep world," Mrs Pearson said.
"They're just happy to be with you.
"You go outside with your coffee or your drink in the afternoon and they'll just come and sit with you because they just love to be near you."
