Strangers have raised more than $3,000 for Verizon employee Maurice German who was suspended by the company after he used his bucket truck to rescue a cat that had been stuck on a telephone pole for more than 12 hours.

Princess Momma’s owners — who had been trying to retrieve the cat since the early hours of the morning — had reportedly put in calls to animal rescue, the fire department, and PECO unsuccessfully.
So, armed with a company lift, German agreed to help.

But after a video of the rescue went viral on social media, the company issued a statement on saying that German had been suspended for three weeks.

Apparently the company’s safety training mandates equipment only be used in certain areas and German used the lift in an unauthorized area.

“We take no joy in this job action,” Verizon spokesperson Rich Young told CBS Philly. “However, we’re committed and responsible for keeping our employees and customers safe while working in a particular area.”

A GoFundMe was created by a bystander on Friday to support the German. By Sunday, the crowdfund had already exceeded its goal and raised nearly $3,000.

An online petition with close to 19,000 signatures was also created to petition for Maurice German’s reinstatement.

“Momma” the cat is rescued in Port Richmond after a long ordeal. See how the community came together to get it done on #CBS3 at 11. (📹= Amanda Boyce) pic.twitter.com/N2hlGoQGNC

— Steve Lindsay (@SteveLindsayCBS) March 17, 2019