After His Daughter Passed Away, This Dad And Disabled Veteran Devoted His Life To Keeping His Community Safe From Dangerous Reptiles Like Rattlesnakes
Sierra Vista, Arizona. A disabled veteran living entirely on a fixed income, Bill decided to provide a service to his community to honor his daughter, who died in 2013.
Bill’s work? Serving as a reptile handler and relocator. And he’s commonly known in his community as “the rattlesnake guy.”
A member of Bill’s community, Brandon recently created a GoFundMe to support Bill—widely known as “the rattlesnake guy”—as he keeps their community safe all year long.
In the GoFundMe post, Brandon shares that Bill can receive up to five calls daily during the peak summer season and that he’s picked up more than 200 rattlesnakes in 2021.
Especially impressive, Brandon shares, “That number does not include Mojave’s, Black Tails or Coral snakes.” Meaning that Bill is handling a whole variety of dangerous reptiles.
As of this post, Bill is the only person in the entirety of Cochise County who is licensed to remove reptiles and find them new homes far from homes and residents.
Bill also knows that some folks can’t afford to compensate him for the reptile removal, but this doesn’t stop him from saving lives.
He’ll pick up the animal, drive into the middle of the desert to release it, and absorb any incidental costs, such as gas or car service.
As though Bill couldn’t be more selfless, he even offers his services during the winter when it’s too cold to re-release the animals in the desert.
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“He has a section of his house dedicated to keeping these creatures alive and healthy until springtime weather allows him to re-home them away from civilization.” Brandon shares.
“Yes you read that correctly, Bill will keep dangerous animals in his home through the winter months to protect families that call on him for help.”
Brandon has a deep appreciation for Bill’s work, even though he has never required these services.
With the help of GoFundMe, Brandon also hopes to raise funds as well as awareness for the importance of Bill’s work, which takes the energy of a full-time job.
“I have seen his name tagged all over Facebook and I know he is potentially saving hundreds of pets, children, and loved ones from being hurt or even potentially finding themselves in an early grave.”
Brandon has also made an incredibly generous gesture to support Bill’s future work in their community.
“I am personally going to match the total of all donations up to 5,000 dollars, so please help me in making this process easier for our very much needed and very much appreciated friend Bill Schumacher.”
Post military service, Bill continues to protect and serve those around him, saving both human and reptile lives in the process.
You can read Bill’s story or donate to the GoFundMe here.
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