POST FALLS, Idaho — It’s a story that could have had a very different ending. Every year, cattle are rounded up to be sold, but one family in Post Falls couldn’t let Carlos the Bull go.
Their unexpected friendship saved the bull from the slaughterhouse.
“He was the only one that would come up to us and take food from our hands. He just charmed us right away. He is part of our family now,” said Alisha Kreissig when describing their new family pet.
Alisha Kreissig’s home in Post Falls borders a cattle farm selling livestock. When they moved in four months ago, they quickly bonded with the bull and named him Carlos.
Alisha’s four-year-old daughter Ruby found a friend in Carlos right away.
“I love him one-thousand percent,” she said, while petting and feeding him an apple.
“One day we saw them rounding up all the other cattle. We asked if Carlos going to be saved and they told us not this season. He is going to be sold,” said Kreissig.
The owner of the farm told the family he is willing to save Carlos from the slaughterhouse and keep him on the property if they could come up with $1,100 to pay for him.
That’s when Kreissig started the #SaveCarlostheBull campaign and a Facebook fundraiser.
“Since I moved here, I always took videos of Carlos. All of my friends have fallen in love with him online,” she said.
The money was raised within 24 hours with cash to spare for his food this winter and next.
“He’s kind of the town mascot since everybody loves him. People come and feed him all the time,” Kreissig added.
The family plans to continue fundraising for his food and care, proving that you really can’t put a price on friendship.