IN THE MEWS — SAN FRANCISCO by JeffyJeffyBadBoy
Employees and firefighters at a San Francisco Fire Station 49 are devastated after their beloved mental health specialist, firehouse cat Edna, was fired by San Francisco Fire Department administration for simply being a cat. Edna came to the station as a feral kitten and was part of the firehouse family. However, after five years of helping firefighter deal with stress, the department removed Edna from the facility because of an anonymous complaint.
A spokesperson for the department said they banished Edna due to concern about “the animal’s own safety and well-being.” Yeah, right. The statement claimed, that since the facility contains “medical supplies, equipment and pharmaceuticals,”the department stated that “having the cat in the facility compromised the sterility” of the supplies and equipment.
SF Fire Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese is fighting to return Edna to work at station #40
Despite the #ednastays campaign, Edna was taken away from the station on Monday. One of the firefighters is stepped up to adopt her. SFFD is planning a “pet adoption day specifically for First Responders” so they can adopt a pet to cope with their stress. Wow, amazing compassion.
According to Dion Lim a reporter for ABC7 in San Francisco, SF Fire Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese is fighting to return Edna to her rightful post. Apparently Commissioner Alioto knows fire station animals provide vital for emotional support to first responder. He will present a new animal policy to the fire commission at their meeting today. Commissioner Alioto says other stations have animal mascots. One station has a rooster. (And we know how sterile bird crap is.)
What would you like to say to the San Francisco Fire Department? Tell me in the comments below.
Check out Edna’s Instagram page fire_cat_edna.
Don’t forget to read important cat news at dustycatwriter.com, and Jeffy’sDailyMews on Instagram and Facebook.
Sterile… what a lame excuse. If the stuff is sterile, it is most likely sealed well. And should be in a bag, a drawer, a cabinet….
THe cat will keep away rats, mice and bugs.. they compromise sterilty so much more… isn’t that a better reason to keep her?
I would like Edna to stay where she is. Not just because of the good for the first responders but for her own sake. In spite of being feral she managed to get used to living in a place with humans… let her stay where she’s happy instead of disrupting her life! That is a trauma for her, which she doesn’t deserve!
You are so right. I’m sure a normal fire call is not a sterile environment. Hopefully the commissioner can straighten things out.