Friends in high places

A couple of companion animals found themselves up, up and away recently.

In Houston, an unlucky feline was 80 feet above the ground, stuck in an expansion joint of one of the city's freeways.

Here's the story from the Houston Chronicle.

The chief investigator for the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had to use a cherry-picker to eventually nab the cat. It isn't known if it's a stray or some one's pet.

Be sure and take a look at the photo gallery of the cat before and after being rescued.

And in wintry Minot, N.D., a border collie mix climbed a snow bank onto a roof.

The Associated Press story in the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader is here.

Animal control officer Dick Schnell said the pooch was in a fenced-in yard with a kennel and apparently wanted a better view.

"He would sit on top and look like, 'It's pretty cool up here,'" Schnell said.

Tossed treats got the dog to a lower portion of the roof, but it wouldn't come down until its owner got home.

And we complain about the snow here.