Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. To get powered up for his work at the Fulton County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency (ESDA), Trash Panda prefurs a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.
The citizens of Fulton County, Illinois, know of Trash Panda’s Pebbles-love thanks to some fun at the hands of his humans. But Fulton County residents aren’t the only ones who’ve caught wind of Trash Panda’s sweet and fruity cereal fascination.
POST Cereals, the makers of Fruity Pebbles, recently sent the hard-working tuxedo cat a box of goodies. The ESDA shared the contents of the box via Facebook post, writing, “Inside was 2 big boxes of the pebbles, some great pebbles masks (*THEY SMELL LIKE PEBBLES!!!!*), fruity pebble candy bars (FYI – those went quick- not gonna lie they were amazing) and at the bottom of the box, was something nobody anticipated. None of us could believe it.”
What did they find?
Boxes of Fruity Pebbles cereal with their very own special feline featured on the front!
But just who is Trash Panda, and why did Post send a cat cereal boxes featuring his face?
Foster to Forever Emergency Worker
A couple years ago, Trash Panda came to the Fulton County ESDA as a tiny kitten after he was “found abandoned” and to keep him going he “was bottle fed every 4 hours or so for quite some time.”
Staff tried to find him a home, even posting some funny memes about Trash Panda, but little did they all know, Trash Panda had already found his forever home. His new humans made it official after promising to adopt Trash Panda if the community helped them raise $250 for the local branch of the Salvation Army.
On the Facebook page Trash Panda shares with dog sibling Floofers, it was reported, “We sailed past $1,000 and kept going and lost count.”
When Trash Panda again asked the community for help gathering supplies for a St. Jude event, the response was overwhelming. The ESDA expected to mail out “10-20 packages of stickers for those that donated.”
Their mail load was much fuller than anticipated!
“105 packages later once again the magic of 🗑🐼 came thru again.”
Fulton County loved their Pebbles-crazed emergency services cat! But how did the Pebbles fun get started?
A Cat, A Bowl of Pebbles, and Some Pics
During the ESDA’s effort to find a home for the little kitten, pictures and memes of Trash Panda with Fruity Pebbles hit the funny bone of Fulton County. The Pebbles jokes stuck, and the legacy was created!
Once Post and Pebbles took notice of their feline mascot and his efforts to do good for others, they had to recognize him. Along with the tasty goodies, inside their care package was something that touched the ESDA staff’s hearts, “a very touching handwritten note.”
The ESDA said, “We’d really like to thank the people at Post Foods and Pebbles Cereal. This was such an honor, such an incredible moment, such a touching gift.”
Not Possible Without the Pebble-Loving People of Fulton County
The Fulton ESDA wants their community to know, “This is because YOU cared, YOU made a difference and YOU -TIME AFTER TIME- stand up to help others when they are in need. The people of this County and our first responders are total superstars. *NEVER* forget that.”
Trash Panda and the Fulton County ESDA want to say thank you to “the people who stand up and go ‘HOLD MY FRUITY PEBBLES, I GOT THIS’ when we ask for help time and time again.”
Trash Panda is a feline who proves anything’s pawssible when we get behind a cat’s agenda!
H/T: www.blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com
Feature Image: Fulton County ESDA/Facebook