Verizon Worker Suspended from Job After Using Company Equipment To Rescue Cat
Most compassionate human beings presented with an animal in peril will do what they can to rescue the poor critter, but not everyone is equipped to deal with every situation.
Princess Momma is a cat in Philadelphia who found herself in quite the predicament on March 12 at around 10:30 p.m., according to CBS. She started climbing a telephone pole and didn’t stop until she reached the top.
The view and her success quickly lost its appeal, as the feline was unable to get back to the ground and remained stranded through the night, despite the attempts of her concerned owners to get her down.
They quickly realized what Momma had done; this wasn’t a task for an ordinary individual. So they started calling various groups for help, including animal rescues, the telephone company and the fire department.
That was a telephone pole, wires. pic.twitter.com/t0wPZ0ga1E
— Formerly Brightly5 (@Brightly50) March 25, 2019
Whether because of lack of interest or the early hour they were contacted, none of the groups responded by morning. Unwilling to sit and do nothing, an animal activist located a nearby Verizon employee who had a company vehicle with a bucket lift.
Seems pretty resourceful, and any animal lover who can connect the dots would have made a similar request. The Verizon employee, Maurice German, was happy to help, and soon Princess Momma was back on solid ground.
While viewers of the rescue have heralded German as a hero, Verizon was less impressed and suspended him without pay for “violating the company’s safety rules.”
Verizon SUSPENDS worker for using work equipment to rescue cat who was stuck on the top of a telephone pole in neighborhood where he was working https://t.co/GhdkBd3Snu pic.twitter.com/Lkl0bhVCRd
— Formerly Brightly5 (@Brightly50) March 23, 2019
“For safety reasons, our trucks and related equipment are not intended to be used in the area in which he was operating, specifically around electrical wires,” a spokesperson with Verizon said during an interview on CBS MoneyWatch.
“While our actions may not be popular, he potentially put his life and those around him in jeopardy.”
Verizon also said it made a donation to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to show that it does value animal rescue, but has maintained that their employee still violated the rules. Plenty of outraged viewers are calling foul, and have started a petition to get the good Samaritan back to his normal routine.
“It turns out that Verizon does NOT have a soft spot for kitty rescue videos and responded by suspending German for three weeks — without pay,” the petition reads.
“Maurice German is an animal hero who saved a beloved family cat! Instead of being suspended, German should be rewarded for his compassion and courage. Tell Verizon to reinstate him NOW!”
As of Saturday morning, the petition has 34,488 signatures out of its goal of 35,000.
Others have banded together to create GoFundMe campaigns to try to raise what German would have made in his three weeks off, and have amassed a combined total of over $10,000 (some of the campaigns have since been closed).
One thing is for sure: People on the internet love cats and many are willing to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to recognizing heroics.
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