Growing up at an emergency center for 16 years since I was a kitten
In human years, eighty… Emerge as a local mascot
Risk of exit due to change in management… Block it with a petition
A cat that has lived at a British National Health Service (NHS) ambulance service center for 16 years has escaped the virtual ‘crisis of dismissal.’ When the authorities attempted to evict this cat, which had in fact become a local mascot, citizens protested and blocked it.
Recently, the London Evening Standard, a local magazine in London, England, told the story of Defib, a cat who was almost kicked out of the London Ambulance Service (Ambulance) Center. Depeep was rescued in 2008 near Walthamstow station, one of the ambulance stations.
At the time, the ambulance staff allowed Diepip, a kitten with nowhere to go, to live in the office, and this eventually became his new home. It appears that the people who named the then-unnamed kitten Deepip were also ambulance workers. The name Defib is also derived from the defibrillator, an essential equipment for emergency responders.
Afterwards, Deepip was said to have served as the ‘mascot’ of London’s Walthamstow Ambulance Center for 16 years. Images of Deepip resting on top of an ambulance spread through social networking services (SNS) and he became a celebrity. Now over 16 years old, Deepip is in his 80s in human years. But recently, DePeep was almost forced out of his Walthamstow office. As the management of the office changes, Deepip’s home is in danger of disappearing.
An employee who couldn’t see this posted a public protest petition on ‘Change’, a British public petition site. He said, “An old cat over 16 years old is in danger of being kicked out,” and urged, “We must protect the cat that lived happily for 16 years and relieved the stress of the employees.” The petition quickly spread on the Internet and garnered more than 62,000 signatures.
The petition was even forwarded to British Health Minister Wes Streeting. In the end, Minister Streeting personally promised to maintain Dipip’s nest. Accordingly, Walthamstow Ambulance Center management also withdrew its previous position. CEO Daniel Elkeles posted a post directly on his official SNS, saying, “After listening to the opinions of employees and the public, we agreed that it would be better for Depip to stay at the ambulance center,” adding, “This cat is a cat for employees.” “It is receiving a lot of love from people, and it seems to have captured the hearts of the public.”
The staff who created the petition later issued a statement saying, “Thanks to your help, love and kindness, we can once again share our lives with this amazing feline friend. We are grateful to the people of London who spoke out loud for one little cat.” “I can’t express how grateful I am,” he said.
Reporter Lim Joo-hyung [email protected]
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