Cat found in New Mexico 5 years after being lost in Oregon
"I'm excited to hold him. I get to rub the belly - the fuzzy belly. When I last saw him, he was maybe the size of a large burrito and now I'm assuming he's the size of four large burritos." - Sasha's human, Viktor Usov.
Portland resident Viktor Usov's cat went missing five years ago. The black, long-haired catboi was found in New Mexico, recently, and returned to his loving owner.
Sasha the cat was flown from Santa Fe NM to Portland International Airport, with help from the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society and American Airlines.
Don't miss the wonderful reunion video at the Shelter's website -- and consider donating!
FOX 12 spoke with Usov as he waited for Sasha to land.
This, folks, is the best quote of forever.
"I'm excited to hold him," Usov said. "I get to rub the belly - the fuzzy belly."
"When I last saw him, he was maybe the size of a large burrito and now I'm assuming he's the size of four large burritos," Usov added.
And from the story in the Santa Fe New Mexican today:
Officers from the city's Animal Services Division picked him up on a south-side street and delivered him to the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society, where staff scanned for a microchip to determine if he had a human. A phone call shortly after revealed the extent of Sasha's expedition across the American West.
"I let him out one night and he never came home," said Viktor Usov of Portland, Ore., who had been Sasha's owner and was expecting to be reunited with the feline Tuesday. "That was five years ago. I just thought a coyote got him, which was sad to think about. "When I got the call, I was ecstatic," Usov added in a phone interview Monday, "but I was not that surprised. This cat loves adventure."
Just how 6-year-old Sasha traveled about 1,400 miles from Portland to Santa Fe will remain a mystery. Usov, 31, a former professional dancer who is now in medical school, said he likes to think Sasha walked the distance, taking in national forests and monuments along the way.
More also at Associated Press.