America Loves Pets: Traveling Cat, Driving Dog And More

Americans love their pets. Last year, they shelled out $72.5 billion pampering them and making sure they’re in good health, according to the American Pet Products Association.

One cat that’s sure to get extra spoiling is Sasha, a scruffy looking cat Viktor Usov adopted from a Portland, Oregon, animal shelter six years ago. Sasha is back home now after a five-year journey that took him from the Pacific Northwest to the desert Southwest.

If Sasha could talk, he would have some amazing cat tales to share.

Read about Sasha’s journey and the amazing reunion with his doting owner on Portland Patch: Cat Back Home After Roaming 5 Years from Oregon To New Mexico

Now, scroll through some other pet and animal stories from Patch’s local editors across the country.

Thrown Out Window, Trapped In SUV Engine, Kitty Finds Home

Americans love pets so much that when one is treated horribly, their hearts are broken. A woman in Florida, Debby Maroney, was driving down the highway when someone in front of her casually threw a kitten out the window.

She and another motorist looked for it, to no avail. What she didn’t know was that the frightened kitten had crawled into the engine compartment of her SUV. She heard the frightened baby mewing and knew where she had holed up, but couldn’t retrieve her. Firefighters couldn’t either.

Read how the kitten, now named Subaru, was freed and how she’s doing now on South Tampa Patch.

Video: 4-Legged Driver Gets Behind Wheel, Makes Cops Dizzy

Americans love their pets so much that a Florida dog probably won’t get in too much trouble for getting behind the wheel and taking a joyride around a cul-de-sac — over and over and over. The car plowed down a mailbox and knocked over a few trash cans, but no one was hurt.

Police aren’t quite sure how it all happened.

Read more about their theories and watch a video on West Palm Beach Patch.

Maggie Sent Home After Burglary Adventure In Florida

Americans love stories about “Florida man,” but getting some serious competition from “Florida dog.”

A lovable bulldog named "Maggie" was reunited with her California owner this week following a four-year cross-country adventure that left her thousands of miles away from home and a central figure in a Florida burglary spree.

Read how Maggie found herself in the middle of a crime spree on Sarasota Patch.

Video: Wild Turkey Stalks Wisconsin Mail Carrier

Americans love wacky animal stories, too. This one about a wild turkey that stalked a mail carrier for months qualifies.

"He didn't pay me much attention at all in the first couple of months, but over the last month, he's acquainted himself quite well with the truck and has started to follow me," the mail carrier, Jeff Bryne, told The Associated Press. s"It's Thanksgiving. I can't say he's annoying. It's too close to his holiday.”

See the video of the persistent turkey on Waukesha Patch.

Video: Wild Burro Gets Stuck In A Sinkhole

Americans also love happy endings. Authorities in California think a wild burro was grazing along a California roadside when things suddenly went south and he slipped into a sinkhole. The hapless animal’s situation was discovered Thursday when someone saw only his head and neck showing.

He couldn’t get out. He was freed Friday, but it took an army — well, a construction crew — to do it.

Read how they freed the animal on Temecula Patch.

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