Scrim (dog)

Scrim is a wire-haired Westie terrier mutt who was rescued from a New Orleans animal shelter in November 2023. He escaped from two homes and remained at large for nearly a year, surviving bullets, a snowstorm, a heat wave, and a hurricane. A "living, panting embodiment of the spirit of New Orleans," his resilience and ability to elude capture became an international news story. ^[1][2]

Scrim was found in a trailer park. Classified as a stray, he was slated for euthanasia when he was rescued from the Terrabonne Parish Animal Shelter by Michelle Cheramie, the founding director of Zeus' Rescue. In an Instagram post she wrote: "In my 20+ years of rescue, I rarely met a dog so shut down as Scrim. When he was transferred back to us in November, he was like a hairless stuffed animal and so scared that he would just sit terrified in his kennel. I have no idea what happened to him before he got to us, but it could not have been good."^[3]

In April 2024, on his first night at a potential adopter's home in Mid-City New Orleans, he escaped. He became a local celebirty as a result of the missing dog posters plastered throughout the neighborhood and a social media star as people on the hunt for him posted cell phone videos of Scrim sightings online.^[4] Scrim spottings were tracked on a google map, and people left food for him on their porches. On October 23, 2024 -- after 177 days on the run -- he was apprehended in a parking lot. Although shot by a tranquilizer gun, he continued to run for seven minutes.^[1]

Following his capture, he was treated for injuries including abrasions, embedded projectiles, and missing teeth. He was placed in Cheramie's custody. Three weeks later, he chewed through the screen on a second floor bedroom window,^[5] jumped 13 feet, squeezed through an iron fence and bolted.^{[6] [7]} Video of Scrim "plunging to the ground, sprinting through a wrought-iron fence and vanishing from view" was widely distributed online. In February 2025, he was captured by volunteers from Trap Dat Cat, a trap, rescue and return non-profit. ^[8] It was estimated that he traveled 57 square miles (148 square kilometers) while on the lam. ^[9]

Cheramie decided to adopt Scrim, setting off a custody battle with adopters who were previously selected. It was settled after Cheramie agreed to allow them visitation. ^[2]

Scrim was honored by the New Orleans City Council; a bobblehead was introduced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum;^[10] the New Orleans Krewe of Muses had a Scrim-themed float in the Mardi Gras parade, and he was the mascot for a city revitalization project.^{[11][12] [13]} A "patron saint of the city," he inspired memes, cosplay,^[14] tattoos, murals,^[1] children's books,^[15] a public art exhibit. ^[16] "Scrim" became slang for "hastily leaving somewhere without looking back”. ^[5]

https://zeusrescues.org/