{"id":2162,"date":"2025-07-18T04:11:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T04:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/2162\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T04:11:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T04:11:12","slug":"scrim-tell-his-own-tail-in-childrens-book-by-margaret-orr-entertainment-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/2162\/","title":{"rendered":"Scrim tell his own \u201ctail\u201d in children\u2019s book by Margaret Orr | Entertainment\/Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s the meeting of two beloved New Orleans icons.\u00a0Scrim<\/a>, everyone\u2019s favorite fugitive mutt, will star in a new children\u2019s book to be published this fall by former television meteorologist Margaret Orr<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Based on a preview, \u201cScrim My Tail: As Told to Margaret Orr,\u201d<\/a> is bound to enthrall the small fry, and maybe dog-loving grown-ups too.<\/p>\n

Orr\u2019s take on Scrim\u2019s epic travels through the Crescent City streets may surprise some, since it introduces a whole new motivation into the mix. Most onlookers believed that Scrim simply craved freedom and distrusted humans, fleeing from the well-meaning folks who set out to capture him and return him to domesticity at all cost.<\/p>\n

But in Orr\u2019s telling, the reason for the heroic little dog\u2019s legendary Houdini-like escapes and reckless running was that he\u2019d been annoyed by cats. That\u2019s right, Orr discovered that cats \u2014 the eternal enemies of all dogs \u2014 were to blame for Scrim\u2019s alienation all along.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople didn\u2019t know what really happened,\u201d Orr said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

Tailgates and snow dogs<\/p>\n

Scrim\u2019s cat aversion isn\u2019t Orr\u2019s only creative take on Scrim’s tale. In her telling, Scrim attends Saints tailgate parties disguised in a Drew Fleas jersey, camouflages himself as a snow dog during last winter\u2019s historic blizzard and sustains himself during his long odyssey with Dat Dog sandwiches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Orr is confident of her conclusions, because they are based on an absolutely credible source, Scrim himself. Orr interviewed the former canine outlaw personally \u2014 in the context of the children\u2019s book, anyway \u2014 before penning the tall tale. To readers, she said, it will be \u201cobvious that we talked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NO.scrimorr.liv.072025\"<\/p>\n

‘Scrim My Tail: As Told to Margaret Orr,’ with illustrations by Matt Rinard, published by Susan Schadt Press<\/p>\n

(Illustration by Matt Rinard,courtesy of Susan Schadt Press)<\/p>\n

The auburn-haired weather reporter said she followed Scrim\u2019s harrowing adventures for months, just like everybody else in New Orleans. She feared for his life on the treacherous New Orleans roads, during the cold of winter and as he faced other hazards.<\/p>\n

She was tremendously relieved when Scrim was finally captured<\/a> in February and returned to the care of\u00a0 Michelle Cheramie, owner of Zeus\u2019 Rescues pet adoption agency. It was Cheramie who originally acquired the abandoned dog from a kill shelter before his legendary odyssey began.<\/p>\n

Orr, who is affiliated with the popular, all-pooch Barkus Carnival parade, was attending a pre-parade fundraising party at Dat Dog in March where she chatted with Cheramie about Scrim\u2019s recent return to the fold. Cheramie offered Orr the opportunity to meet the international celebrity<\/a> face-to-face.<\/p>\n

\"NO.scrimorr.liv.072025\"<\/p>\n

Former meteorologist and children\u2019s book author Margaret Orr gets the side-eye from celebrity escapee Scrim.<\/p>\n

(Photo courtesy Margaret Orr)<\/p>\n

Orr said she visited Charmie\u2019s home and held the once-feral mutt in her arms. He was heavier than she imagined, she said. Scrim\u2019s short legs made him seem smaller than he really was. Laughingly, Orr said that Scrim, who was still quite wary of mankind, looked at her \u201cside-eyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was during that visit, Orr said, that Cheramie told her Scrim may have performed his most incredible escape from captivity \u2014\u00a0plunging from a second-story window<\/a> in her home to the concrete pathway below \u2014 because he was \u201cbothered\u201d by her pet cats.<\/p>\n

As Scrim is “quoted” as saying in Orr\u2019s book: \u201cCats cannot be trusted. And I do not recall sharing a house with a cat being a part of my adoption contract. One day I am sound asleep dreaming of treats, when here comes that sneaky . . . Cat! What\u2019s a poor pup to do when a cat is about to ambush you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Orr wasn\u2019t the only one to get an audience with Scrim. Artist Matt Rinard, who helps organize the annual Barkus parade, had been invited along with the meteorologist to visit the superstar pup. Orr was already formulating a plan for a children\u2019s book, and she enlisted Rinard to produce the illustrations.<\/p>\n

\"NO.scrimorr.liv.072025\"<\/p>\n

Artist Matt Rinard gets his chance to hold the world-famous Scrim<\/p>\n

(Photo courtesy Matt Rinard)<\/p>\n

There was no doubt that he was perfect for the project. The Mississippian is well-known for his Royal Street gallery where he displays his charming paintings of anthropomorphized dogs, cats and other creatures that act out human foibles.<\/p>\n

Rinard said he\u2019d always wanted to produce a children\u2019s book and was happy to get involved. Though, he said, he was astonished by how swiftly Orr threw herself into the project, churning out her comical account of Scrim\u2019s adventures in no time. \u201cShe was like a dog with a bone,\u201d Rinard said.<\/p>\n

Rinard added tongue-in-cheek details of his own to the folkloric retelling of Scrim\u2019s life on the run. The artist added a purple cartoon squirrel to the proceedings, as a \u201cguardian angel\u201d character that \u201cmakes sure Scrim was on the right path.\u201d He said he hopes kids search each panel for the squirrel the way he used to search Highlights children\u2019s magazine for hidden details. Orr compared the squirrel to the furtive mouse in the classic \u201cGoodnight Moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rinard also envisioned Scrim as a sort of graffiti tagger, who inscribed every panel with the phrase \u201cScrim was here,\u201d like a canine Kilroy. Scrim even tagged a St. Charles Avenue streetcar, like the notorious graffiti writer Reznor did years ago. Taylor Swift fans will be delighted to find \u201cScrim was here,\u201d spelled out in the giant friendship bracelet on the Superdome.<\/p>\n

\"NO.musesparade.020924_136.JPG\"<\/p>\n

WDSU Chief Meteorologist Margaret Orr smiles at the adoring crowds as she serves as the Honorary Muse for the the Krewe of Muses parade through New Orleans on Thursday, February 8, 2024. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)<\/p>\n

PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER<\/p>\n

Rinard said he sprinkled his illustrations with \u201chints of architecture and nuances of New Orleans\u201d in order to lend the book \u201ca kinship with the readers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orr said that any proceeds she might receive from \u201cScrim My Tail: As Told to Margaret Orr,\u201d will benefit the Barkus organization, which in turn contributes to animal shelters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not making a penny,\u201d Orr said. \u201cDo we say penny anymore? Maybe I should say, ‘I\u2019m not making a nickel.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cScrim My Tail: As Told to Margaret Orr,\u201d will sell for $20. Copies won\u2019t be available until Oct. 21, though publisher Susan Schadt Press is accepting preorders<\/a>. Orr said she hopes to convince donors to buy books for local schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s the meeting of two beloved New Orleans icons.\u00a0Scrim, everyone\u2019s favorite fugitive mutt, will star in a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2163,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[64,63,457,134,3294],"class_list":{"0":"post-2162","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-books","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-hardwall"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}