The residents at Homestead Assisted Living and Memory Care in Knoxville were greeted by a special visitor Monday afternoon. Merle Mann and his son Troy stopped by with their Llama named Cinnamon to bring the residents a few smiles while they continued to quarantine due to COVID-19. Merle and Cinnamon toured the outside of the facility and allowed residents to get an up close view of Cinnamon while looking out their windows. Mann tells KNIA/KRLS News it’s all about seeing the look on the resident’s faces that makes the visit worthwhile. He says he doesn’t try to focus on what the residents are thinking or the isolation they are facing, he focuses on the constant smiles he is bringing them. 

Mann, who is from Oskaloosa, says he continues to bring Cinnamon to residents in assisted living centers all throughout South Central Iowa because he just wants to do what he can to help the people who are most affected by the disease.