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Remember Scrim? He’s the terrier in New Orleans who jumped 13-feet off a second story into freedom, while he was still recuperating from air pellet gun wounds and lost teeth from six months on the lam. The good news is he was safely recovered a couple weeks ago! And in that short time the stealthy pup landed himself in the middle of a brief custody battle.
Both times Scrim was on the lam (nearly 10 months total), Michelle Cheramie — the owner of Zeus’ Rescues who originally saved Scrim from a dog pound — worked closely with couple Tammy Murray and Freba Maulauizada on the rescue efforts. Murray and Maulauizada thought they would be adopting Scrim after his second sprint. Except once Scrim was returned to Cheramie earlier this month (she’s always been the first contact, as owner of Zeus’ Rescues), Cheramie decided she wanted to keep Scrim. After some public barklash over the ownership dispute (Scrim is a bone-a-fide Nola celeb by now), all three women realized Scrim was obviously doing really well with Cheramie. So they recorded a video to happily confirm that Scrim will remain with Cheramie, while Murray and Maulauizada will still play big roles in his life:
The (second) rescue effort: After he skedaddled from Cheramie’s home in November, the trail went quickly cold after the batteries in Scrim’s GPS collar died within hours. People with nets and tranquilizer darts formed search parties that scoured the city for Scrim on both of his runs, but they came up empty-handed. He eschewed baits of beef tripe and locally beloved Popeyes fried chicken while making fleeting appearances on doorbell camera videos across New Orleans, earning him international media coverage as well as a large online following within the city and beyond. Eventually, on 11 February, an apparently hungry Scrim reportedly crawled into a narrow trap designed for cats, was recaptured and returned to Cheramie.
Cheramie’s about-face: Murray at that point thought Scrim would be going to the home she shared with her partner, Maulauizada. The animal advocate and furniture designer, who had spent days and nights partaking in efforts to find Scrim, had submitted an application to adopt the dog through Zeus’ Rescues and had gained approval. However, on 18 February, Cheramie announced on Facebook that she had decided to keep Scrim for herself after he had bonded with her dog, Scooby, and had even been received warmly by her cats. “I had a change of heart,” Cheramie wrote. “I wanted him to be my dog.”
Heated reactions: [Cheramie] acknowledged that Murray and Maulauizada “took it hard”, referred to “a lot of hurt and pain”, and expressed a desire for a time when “we will all heal”. Murray herself confirmed that was the case in her own social media statement, writing: “No words. Devastated and really speechless. 10+ months of my life dedicated to bringing him home to safety. Even made it official and filled out an application and got approved only to be here … not my dog.” Many sympathized with Murray. One user wrote Cheramie was acting “selfish … and … isn’t putting Scrim’s needs before her emotions”. Another wrote: “She sees him as a meal ticket.” And still another wrote to Zeus’ Rescues: “I think you have showed you can’t properly take care of him. This should not be your dog.”
Focusing on Scrim: The rancorous tone of the dialogue unwittingly set off by Murray’s and Cheramie’s dueling statements then evidently prompted both to collaborate on defusing it. Convinced that Scrim was thriving in Cheramie’s home, Murray and Maulauizada then essentially dropped their adoption claim to leave him in the care of the Zeus’ Rescues proprietor, with assurances that they would still have roles in his life. They also made a conciliatory video with Cheramie and Scrim, on her lap, between them. An intermittently teary-eyed Murray said in the video: “Our focus is on Scrim. I hope everyone can celebrate with us that this dog is just doing wonderful.”
Woof, what a mess! Scrim’s sagas never end! Not gonna lie, as I watched all 11 minutes of the conciliatory video, there were moments when I understood how a person/dog could get the urge to run. No no no, I jest! (Mostly.) These three women have clearly been through the ringer, spending nearly a year working together to get Scrim off the streets during both sprees. I’d say the big error was accepting an adoption application while Scrim was still on the lam (again). And speaking of, that rascal just sits in the middle of them with a doe-eyed look that screams, “What? Surely I’m not the cause of all this brouhaha?” The little floof. He did seem fully relaxed, and the women acknowledged that that’s all they want for him. Their best moment was at the end, when they agreed Scrim doesn’t belong to a person, but to New Orleans.
PS — Hilarious that he was finally caught… via cat trap.
