Browser was first adopted by the White Settlement Public Library in Forth Worth, Texas in 2010 to help out with a rodent infestation. Since then the friendly cat has become the libraryโs mascot.
His face is even on the libraryโs annual fundraising calendar.
However, he was given the boot when the city council decided his services were no longer needed and that animals shouldnโt be allowed in city facilities. But that was before the Internet and locals totally freaked out about it, prompting the city to reverse its decision.
Mayor Ron White said that the councilโs decision seemingly came out of nowhere.
โI think it was a suspicious motion, to begin with, and I donโt have a good answer for it, but I donโt support it,โ White told ABC News. โI think Browser should stay right where it is.โ
In addition to fending off rodents, White says Browser serves an invaluable purpose.
โHe helps children read,โ White said. โLittle children will come into the library and theyโll read to Browser.โ
Lisa Rogak, co-author of โThe True Tails of Baker and Taylor: The Library Cats who Left Their Pawprints on a Small Townโฆ and the World,โ said that cats make the library a more welcoming and cozy place.
โAnything that encourages people to visit a library, whether the Internet, an out-of-print book โor a catโ is to be encouraged,โ she told ABC News.
Though one of the arguments against having a cat in their city library was to protect those who are allergic to cats, White says that the air purifier in the library gets rid of 99 percent of allergens in the air.
Since the councilโs initial decision, White said he got more than 1,500 emails from places all over the world like Australia, Canada, Iceland, France, Germany and other countries in support of Browser.
The city even collected 1,000 signatures for a petition to keep Browser.
The councilman who introduced the law to ban Browser, Elzie Clements, is the same councilman who introduced a motion to bring him back.
โI donโt think they understood what they had done to begin with and how it would affect everybody,โ White said.
White says he is glad the ordeal is over and that Browser is back to protecting the cityโs books.
โIt was a waste of time and money,โ said White. โIt was ridiculous to do that and they did it without thinking ahead. It was absolutely wrong to begin with.โ
Brower, the Internet, and the citizens of Forth Worth, Texas can all rest easy now that Browser is back on the job.
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