[Vision2020] Caturday (November 23, 2019)

[Moscow Cares]

No one's quite sure how Sasha the 6-year-old fluffy black cat made it from Portland, Oregon, to Santa Fe over the past five years, but he has finally been reunited with his person, just in time for Caturday.

Courtesy of the Arizona Central (Phoenix, Arizona) at:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/pets/2019/11/21/lost-portland-cat-sasha-found-in-new-mexico-reunited-with-owner/4253162002/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark

———————————————

How Sasha the lost cat found his way home after 5 years and 1,300 miles

 
No one’s quite sure how Sasha the 6-year-old fluffy black cat made it from Portland, Oregon, to Santa Fe over the past five years.
 
But apparently it isn’t uncommon for cats — who are known for their independent streaks — to go hitchhiking.
 
And on Tuesday, five years after he went missing, Sasha was returned to his owner, Viktor Usov.
 
Murad Kirdar of the Santa Fe Animal Shelter hand-delivered the feline, compliments of American Airlines, to Usov at Portland International Airport.
 
By Tuesday night, the healthy, 19-pound Sasha was back on his favorite place on the couch, flipping over for belly rubs.
 
"It's like he never left. He's so happy," the 31-year-old Usov said. "I guess I wanna think he was on a great American adventure."
 
When Sasha went missing in 2014, Usov thought the cat might have fallen victim to coyotes. But not every cat that goes missing meets a bad end.
 
“It’s very common for a cat to jump in a U-Haul or a train or the back of a truck. But for 1,200 miles and for a cat to be missing for five years and then for a microchip to connect both of them? That rarely happens," Kirdar said.
 
Sasha’s fur was matted and unkempt when he was found wandering the streets of Santa Fe this month, leading shelter staff to believe he was someone’s outdoor cat. They took him in and set out to find his owner.
 
“Sasha didn’t miss a meal,” Kirdar said. “I like to say Sasha was eating a lot of good Mexican food because (he) was a chunky cat, very healthy.”
 
“I’m sure he has a lot of great stories to tell,” Kirdar said.
 
Microchips reunite pets, owners
 
The Santa Fe Animal Shelter reunites families with their missing pets every day, Kirdar said. But this is the first time he has done an in-person delivery. Sasha’s successful return would not have been possible if he had not been microchipped.
 
“The microchip is the best form of identification for an animal,” said Kirdar, adding that most shelters insert the chip, which is as small as a grain of rice, before adoption.
 
Microchipping and licensing are sure fire ways to get an animal returned," said Jose Santiago of Maricopa County Animal Care and Control.
 
"All dogs 3 months of age and older are required by law to be licensed and that must be renewed every year. If we find an animal that is wearing a current license or microchip and we can locate an owner, we drive that animal straight home."
 
According to Santiago, the shelter has taken in more than 27,000 animals this year, 96% of which have been returned or rescued.

————————

Photos . . . 

Sasha flew home to Portland after five years away from his family. He was found by the Santa Fe Animal Shelter roaming the streets of New Mexico.
http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_112319_01.jpg
 
Sasha was reunited with owner Viktor Usov (left) on Nov. 19, 2019, at the Portland International Airport after five years apart.
http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_112319_02.jpg

After five years away from his family and traveling more than 1,000 miles from his Portland home to Santa Fe, Sasha flew home on Nov. 19, 2019.
http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_112319_03.jpg

———————————————

“Caturday” by Linus Petit
http://www.tomandrodna.com/MoscowCares/Caturday/Caturday_by_Linus_Petit.mp3

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20191123/488a94d6/attachment.html>