Some guys simply can’t be tied down. Such is the case with Scrim, a scruffy 13-pound terrier who calls the greater New Orleans metro area home. Scrim was saved from a pound earlier this year by local shelter Zeus’ Rescues, run by Michelle Cheramie, and then adopted on April 28. By April 29, the boy had fled. What followed was six months of flyers, social media posts, map tracking, shared cell phone and security footage, net guns and tranquilizers, and dozens of volunteers working together to locate and capture Scrim, without spooking the crazy kid. It was the kind of grassroots, underdog (had to!), community effort that Julia Roberts films are made of, and it all paid off on October 23 when Cheramie reclaimed custody. As a measure of good faith — as well as a lure to convince him to stay put, no doubt — the Nola City Council even awarded Scrim a special commendation in early November. So guess who just chewed through a screen door to leap 13 feet off a second-story into freedom once again?
Cheramie reported Escape #2 on Instagram: “Trust me when I say that there is nothing negative that you can say to me or about him getting loose again that I haven’t already said to myself in the last 24 hours,” read Cheramie’s post, which contained stunning home security camera video of Scrim plunging to the ground, sprinting through a wrought-iron fence and vanishing from view. Scrim had run more than two miles (3.2km) when the battery on his GPS collar died, once again leaving Cheramie and those who have helped her look for him with no clue to his precise whereabouts.
It took a lot to recover Scrim from Escape #1: Reuniting with Scrim during his first stint on the lam was no small feat. After Cheramie saved him from the dog pound, a family in New Orleans’ Mid-City neighborhood eventually adopted him. But Scrim quickly escaped and earned a measure of social media stardom as users posted videos from cellphones and security cameras whenever he was spotted jaunting through the streets. Those searching for him were equipped with traps, nets and tranquilizer guns, but he frustrated their efforts until Cheramie got a call the night of 23 October that Scrim had been sighted. Cheramie soon posted on social media: “WE GOT HIM!!!!”
The poor guy needs to heal!! Scrim did not emerge from that run unscathed. He was missing a chunk out of his ear and had suffered various abrasions while X-rays revealed two projectiles — possibly small bullets or air rifle pellets — were lodged inside his little body, according to the Associated Press, citing information a veterinarian who examined Scrim told New Orleans media outlets.
Rewarding the returning hero… before he fled again: He and Cheramie ventured out on 7 November to the chambers of New Orleans’ city council, where civic leaders honored Scrim for displaying “resilience”, as one of the body’s members worded it. The plan was for Scrim to stay at Cheramie’s home to recover from his wounds before he was again put up for adoption. Yet Scrim turned that plan on its head when, according to what Cheramie told Nola.com, he chewed through the screen of an open second-story window, squeezed through and leapt out. Cheramie wrote on Instagram that soon her team was distributing flyers and knocking on doors, asking people to keep a lookout for Scrim as a second search for him got under way. … “It took all of us coming together to find him last time. I am asking for your help again.”
Oh, Scrim! Be still, young man, and let yourself recover! It’s a wild story, like he’s the real life Tramp in his pre-Lady days. And boy is he dapper! But at the heart of this tail is a sensitive soul who keeps fleeing out of fear. Scrim is easily spooked by humans and loud noises — heaven knows what he went through in his early years — which is why his first rescue took six months. If you are in New Orleans and want to help, I recommend checking in with the Zeus’ Rescues Instagram page, where they are posting updates on Scrim’s location. And very importantly: if you encounter him, do not chase him or call out for him as that will cause him to bolt. But do contact Michelle Cheramie to report the location and direction Scrim was heading in. Apparently they’re expecting storms in Nola, and Cheramie is worried he will “keep running until the thunder stops.” Dogs give us so much, let’s get Scrim safely home and give him the opportunity to relax, trust, love, and be loved.
New Orleans’ infamous escape artist, Scrim, is back on the run after jumping 13 feet from the second floor, out a gate and down the street. pic.twitter.com/wISEFbx4Kw
— Jonah Gilmore (@JonahMGilmore) November 16, 2024