POST FALLS — Carlos the friendly steer has been saved, thanks to generous donations from community members.

Neighbor Alisha Kreissig (figuratively) took the bull by the horns to raise the $1,100 needed to keep him on Bill Guy’s farm in west Post Falls. Within 24 hours of speaking with a Press reporter, the goal of the “Save Carlos” effort had been reached and compassionate contributions continue to come in.

“I can’t believe how close-knit this community is,” Kreissig said. “I’m so honored to be a part of it, how kind everyone is and how they band together. I’m just overwhelmed.”

The 4-year-old bovine was about to be sold when Kreissig and others in the Whiskey Flats neighborhood asked Guy if they could buy Carlos from him. Guy offered to keep Carlos on his property and provide the grain and hay for him if the selling price was matched.

Kreissig began getting phone calls early after the Coeur d’Alene Press article ran.

“It’s been amazing,” she said.

Although the purchase goal has been met, Kreissig said any extra money will go into a savings fund for Carlos to help Guy with feed and watering bills. A big boy like Carlos weighing 1,000 pounds can eat up to 20 pounds of hay a day, or 2 percent of his body weight.

According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, a steer that size also produces five to seven pounds of manure a day, which will require a little more work for Guy as he continues to have Carlos on his farm.

“It would be good to give (Guy) an extra savings account for him,” Kreissig said. “We want Carlos to live out his life. We want to secure that.”

Bottle-fed as a calf, Carlos, now a 4-year-old Angus steer, is affectionate and friendly with humans and has become a special part of the Whiskey Flats neighborhood on the west side of Post Falls.

“He trusts and loves being petted by humans,” said Kreissig. “He comes when he is called, and loves apples, lettuce, and, most of all, the neighborhood’s grass clippings from mowing their lawn.”

Everybody knows him because he loves people, Kreissig said.

“We feed him by hand and he lets us pet him. He’s always a sweetheart,” Kreissig said.

Owner Bill Guy said he was OK with keeping Carlos around. Carlos is one of three steers Guy raised. The others have already been sold, and those funds help pay for irrigation and taxes on the farm Guy’s parents bought in 1955.

“All the little kids like Carlos. They come out and reach through the fence and feed him,” Guy said with a chuckle. “He likes the attention. We go out there to move the sprinklers, and he’ll sneak up behind you. If you stop, he’ll run into you. He has horns, you got to watch out.”

Guy said Carlos weighs about 1,000 pounds, but “he’s a big, gentle baby.”

Visit www.facebook.com/donate/586225571914332 to contribute to the effort to provide funds to help keep Carlos secure.

For more information, reach Kreissig at 951-375-7413.