Worker Rescues Stranded Cat, Gets Suspended

A Verizon worker who rescued a stranded cat from a utility pole in Philadelphia has discovered that there's some truth in the saying "No good deed goes unpunished." The company suspended Maurice German for three weeks without pay after he used his bucket truck to rescue "Princess Momma," ABC11 reports. Verizon says German violated safety rules when he answered residents' pleas to save the animal. Resident Amanda Boyce, a neighbor of the cat's owner, tells CBS Philadelphia that the feline spent around 12 hours at the top of the pole and the owner had already tried calling the fire department, animal rescue services, and the phone company.

Verizon is taking a hammering on social media for the decision to suspend German, but the company is sticking to its guns. "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 company spokesperson tells CBS. "While our actions may not be popular, he potentially put his life and those around him in jeopardy." Two GoFundMe pages set up to help German have stopped taking donations after raising a total of more than $10,000. Verizon says it has made a donation of its own to Pennsylvania Animal Rescue & Protection. (More Verizon stories.)