Four Gold Stars

In 2014 Viktor Usov was a medical student living in Portland, Oregon. Like so many other people, Viktor was in the habit of letting his fluffy black cat Sasha roam the neighborhood at night. Several of my own neighbors do this, even though it’s unsafe for the cats, for the neighbors’ gardens, and for the local songbirds. One morning Sasha simply didn’t come home. Viktor had to assume she’d had an unfortunate encounter with a car or a vicious dog. Fast forward to Thanksgiving week, this year. Viktor got a call from an animal shelter in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They’d picked up a healthy stray whose microchip led them to Viktor’s number. “When I got the call, I was ecstatic,” Viktor said, “but not that surprised. This cat loves adventure.” Sasha got a plane ride back to Viktor courtesy of American Airlines. There’s probably an amazing story behind her five-year, 1,400-mile escapade, but Sasha’s keeping it to herself.