For more than 15 years, Erik the Red served as the CSS Acadia’s rodent control officer in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Erik, who was named after the renowned Viking, was a starving young stray when he was discovered in 1999 by Acadia shipkeeper Stephen Read.
Read was followed by the cat back to the boat. “This cat kept following us, street after street after street, one night while I was going through the streets of Halifax with a companion,” recalled the witness (thestar.com)
Read chuckled at the thought that this tiny ginger kitten must have heard about Clare, their former Acadia mouser, who wasn’t too thrilled about her job.
When he joined, “he really had to get right to work,” said Read, “but he more than proved his mettle.”
From Purdy’s Wharf to Pier 21, Erik would monitor the entire shoreline.
He is both a respected coworker and my friend. He’s been the greatest I’ve ever seen, and I’ve known three of the four rodent control officers who have served on board this ship since 1981. He was consistently the most effective and reliable.
The cat occasionally brings Erik “gifts,” frequently placing them in the soles of his shoes. Erik and Read have been living together on the ship for more than 15 years. After the initial shock, I realised it was a symbolic gift and was grateful for it, the recipient added.
The age of the ginger cat ranges from 17 to 20 years old. He now lives in a cosy house in Halifax’s north end and has been semi-retired for a while.
A lot of people attended his retirement party and wrote kind words about Erik in the guest books in the chart room of the Acadia.
One Halifax resident remarked on how Erik made her commute to and from work more cheerful, while another regretted they would never be able to see another orange cat without remembering Erik.
According to The Star.
With the exception of a few times when someone was touching him, Erik spent the majority of his own celebration asleep.
