*Some animal lovers have come to the aid of a Verizon employee after he was suspended by the company without pay for rescuing a cat using company equipment.
PEOPLE reports that Maurice German was working in a Philadelphia neighborhood on March 16 when a resident asked him to help rescue a cat stuck on top of a telephone pole.
Princess Momma had been chilling on the pole for over 12 hours, reports CBS Philadelphia. The fire department and animal rescue failed to return the calls of the pet’s owner about the situation. So that’s when German was tapped to help.
He agreed to save Princess Momma, and did so by using Verizon’s hydraulic lift on his Verizon truck. In the video of the rescue, onlookers cheer as he safely grabs the feline, who was returned to her owner without injury.
Scroll up and watch the moment via the clip above.
OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: Chase and ESSENCE Expand Economic Opportunities for Black Women with Launch of Currency Conversations Campaign
Verizon Worker Suspended Without Pay for Rescuing Cat Stuck on Telephone Pole https://t.co/3HEHs3PDK9
— People (@people) March 28, 2019
Despite his heroic effort, Verizon was not impressed. The company suspended German for three weeks without pay for violating the safety rules.
“We take no joy when our employees face consequences related to their job duties. We are, however, fully committed and responsible for keeping our employees and customers safe. All of our field technicians go through extensive training that is focused on workplace safety. Our goal is to keep our employees and our customers out of harm’s way,” Verizon said in a statement to WPVI.
“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. While our actions may not be popular, he potentially put his life and those around him in jeopardy,” the statement continued.
Facing backlash for the unpopular decision, Verizon followed up by donating money to the Pennsylvania SPCA.
How would you like to be so self-unaware as a corporation, both of your own reputation and the optics, that you’d publicly punish an employee for saving an animal with your only explanation being “our decision may not be popular but…” #Verizon https://t.co/zfZnuuz4jG
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) March 25, 2019
Meanwhile, concerned friends and supporters of German started GoFundMe pages to help him while he’s on unpaid suspension.
Amanda Fairchild Boyce, who captured the cat’s rescue on camera, started a page started that has raised $3,395.
According to CBS News, a different GoFundMe, started by German’s co-worker, raised over $7,000.
Verizon, meanwhile, has been urged to reinstate German.
