Rose

Bill

Hello My name is Bill Gould and I would like to introduce you to a very special couple…….. my  sister Rose and her husband Bill, who is originally from Texas. Among his many talents Bill played drums in bands for years and is a very entertaining magician. Check out his website at http://wackyworldofmagic.com

From a very early age Rose was an animal lover. She got her first cat at age 3 and her first horse at 8. Heck I think she may even have had a horse before she got a bicycle. For as long as I can remember Rose has been a rescuer of animals. She was forever bringing home the birds with broken wings and every critter that looked like it hadn’t eaten in days.

Out for a stroll

Old habits die hard I guess because Rose is still an animal rescuer, only on a much larger scale. Bill and Rose live on a small farm near Spirit River, Alberta and have made it a haven for every abandoned, abused, unloved or unwanted animal in a hundred mile radius and beyond. Often people just want to dispose of an animal because they’re no longer convenient.

Trinity Simba and Sunny

Now Rose also raises and trains horses of her own but at the time of our visit the list of livestock included:  32 horses, 14 dogs, 50+ cats, 4 guinea pigs,  a rabbit, 4 doves, 2 cockatiels, 5 budgies, 31 chickens, and a Spanish goat.

Bill travels 80 kms each way to his job at a building supply store in Grande Prairie. Rose works night shifts in a nursing home, cleans a bank 5 days a week, does upholstery work at home and still finds time to take care of the daily chores. Just feeding and watering that many animals alone is a big job.

To my knowledge Bill and Rose have never asked for financial assistance to provide for feed, fencing, or veterinarian bills. To make matters worse they lost their home to fire a few years ago with no insurance and are still recovering from that.
Now if you have a dog or cat to feed you’ve likely noticed how much it costs to feed them. Try multiplying that cost by one of the numbers above and you’ll begin to grasp the enormity of the problem. Add to that the shortage of rain in Northern Alberta this year has adversely affected pasture and hay supplies. Being a farm boy myself nobody has to spell out the implications of that to me.

As usual there are people willing to criticize the rescue efforts. Few seem inclined to offer help in any way, or even an encouraging word in support.

Diesel on lookout

Bill and Rose have dubbed their operation TexAlta Rescue and I know some of you animal lovers out there would like to be involved in their heroic efforts.  The best way you can do that is make a donation to the cause of whatever size you can manage.

Thanks to the internet It’s now easier than ever to make a donation. Either through your online banking or via PayPal you can send donations to:  texaltarescue@gmail.com care of Rose Salyers.

I know some people prefer not to use their credit card online so just send an email to the email address above and Rose will be happy to provide you with her regular mailing address.

Or if you have questions or comments you can direct them to that email address as well.
You can make a difference with even a small donation to this humanitarian effort. In the months ahead we will be following up with articles about some of the individual rescued animals and their stories. Stay tuned.

We are also talking over the idea of offering to let folks foster individual animals for a year at a time. More details on that in a later post.

Isn't it time for treats yet