Scrim, the famously fugitive dog, has finally been captured after evading dart guns, traps, and scores of pet lovers for months in New Orleans’ Mid-City neighborhood, according to an Instagram post from Zeus’ Rescues pet adoption agency.
“WE GOT HIM,” wrote Zeus’ Rescue owner Michelle Cheramie. “I will give more details when I catch my breath and the vet evaluation. So much love to my team. I am speechless.”
In a subsequent telephone conversation, Cheramie said she was not just speechless, she was breathless after the heart-pounding capture that took place at roughly 11 a.m. Wednesday, bringing to a close the pooch’s born-to-run saga that began in April.
Cheremie had rescued Scrim, a scruffy, wire-haired terrier mutt, from possible euthanasia at North Shore dog pound. After a period of rehabilitation and acclimation to domesticity, Scrim was placed with an adoptive family that lived in Mid-City.
Almost immediately, Scrim escaped, leading Cheramie and a group of devoted volunteers on a months-long chase, that included sporadic spottings, digital mapping, trapping, netting, and darting. In time Scrim became a tongue-in-cheek folk hero to the folks in his territory.
One of the escape artist’s favorite haunts was a brickyard near the railroad tracks near the corner of Conti and N. Alexander Street. Beside the yard is a fenced-in area used for parking limousines.
In the more than three months since he escaped from his Mid-City home, Scrim has become a tongue-in-cheek outlaw celebrity
It was there that an auto shop employee spotted the fugitive cream-colored dog on Wednesday and phoned in the sighting, Cheramie said. She arrived not long after, toting a tranquilizer dart gun, and accompanied by three fellow Scrim trackers.
In the long hunt for Scrim, Cheramie explained, she’s become certified in the chemical capture of stray animals – and she’s a good shot. “I’m Cajun and have been shooting most of my life,” Cheramie said.
Scrim, of course, made a dash for it, and Cheramie took her shot. “I got him on the run,” she said.
But that wasn’t the end of the episode. It takes time for the canine sedative to take hold, and Scrim had previously been darted twice without capture. The dog doubtlessly realized that distancing himself from his pursuers, while he was still able, was crucial.
Cheramie said she had to chase Scrim for seven or eight minutes before finally, the famous fugitive succumbed.
Cheramie, who spoke to the Times-Picayune while the episode was still fresh in her mind, said she hadn’t yet had time to process her reaction to the end of her Ahab-like quest. “I don’t know how I feel,” she said. “I’m relieved that he’s safe.”
At this writing, Scrim is under observation at the Metairie Small Animal Hospital, as the effect of the tranquilizer wears off. He will then undergo a health screening.
Scrim, a wire-haired terrier mutt, seen during a brief dalliance with domesticity during foster care, before he became a legendary fugitive
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