DOGGONE GIRL, #2! A DOGGONE CRIME opinion piece


Marlene Sharp is a creative and business-savvy entertainment multi-hyphenate who originally hails from New Orleans but is now a (San Fernando) Valley girl. Firmly ensconced in LA life, Marlene is top dawg at Pink Poodle Productions and Head of IP Strategy and Acquisitions for Rainshine Entertainment. Noteworthy clients and collaborators include BoredPanda.com, WeFixYourScript.com, ToonBo, Society Cabaret, Euramco Pictures, and The Center for Learning Unlimited/Brainstorm Productions. Prior to Pink Poodle and Rainshine, Marlene served as Director, Production at LEVEL-5 abby, home of YO-KAI WATCH and other Japanese hit video game-based franchises.

The Best 2022 True Crime Dog Podcasts in 2 Parts, Starting on January 2 – Part 2 of 2

By: Blanche DuBois Sharp and Marlene Sharp

Hello again, DOGGONE CRIME repeat offenders! Thanks for your return to our makeshift rap sheet(s) of the best in 2022 true crime dog podcasts. It’s still me, Blanche, your curious canine wordsmith hostess and my mama Marlene. Pretty soon, we will return to writing about toys and ‘toons. But today, we are tickled to share part 2 of 2 on our favorite, non-kid-friendly topic: tattling about telltale true crime transgressions and the dog people who love to listen to them!

See Part 1 here. Part 2 of the countdown commences thus!

4) DATELINE (March 23, 2022) “Stealing paradise” – If Superman were to take on fido form, he’d be Jack the Doberman of this solved mystery. The real Jack jumped off an island – multiple times! – swam across treacherous waters, and lead law enforcement to the buried, bullet-riddled body of his caretaker Cher Hughes. Jack’s heroics were the conduit to apprehension of serial killing jerk Wild Bill Cortez (a.k.a. William Dathan Holbert), not to be confused with serial killing supporting jerk Buffalo Bill of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Please note that both are, and forever will be, huge jerks.

3) BLOOD MONEY (July 21, 2022) “Missing mom: Heidi Planck” – Podcasting P.I. Catherine Townsend – dog mom to Chihuahua media personality Winston –  thoughtfully covers this perplexing and ongoing head-scratcher. Heidi Planck’s Labradoodle Seven demonstrated exceptional survival skills that did not save his owner from being spirited away. One year ago, Heidi Planck disappeared. Miles from his Culver City home, Seven survived Heidi’s dematerialization. He subsisted solo for an indeterminate amount of time on the 29th floor hall of downtown Los Angeles Hope + Flower high rise.  Heidi has yet to resurface . . .

2) CHEAT (September 12, 2022) “When pigs can fly” – This service-animal scam episode is extremely controversial, especially for these kinds of folks: 1) poodles, 2) poodle parents, 3) emotional support dog handlers, 4) airline employees, 5) squirrels, 6) pigs with unpredictable bowels. When listening, please exercise anger management and expect to exercise your gag reflex.

1) SMOKE SCREEN: PUPPY KINGPIN (June 16 – August 4, 2022) – The entire SMOKE SCREEN season 4 is the paws-down winner of best dog true crime podcast! Gumshoe host and canine advocate Alex Schuman darts into the thick of a hairy situation that involves fake non-profit organizations masquerading as dog rescue groups. Over seven episodes (plus two bonus installments), the baddies are unmasked for the puppy millers that they are!

Special and sincere scientific achievement honors go to a pair of works that feature two separate, excellent, potential benefactors for the yet-to-be-produced DOGGONE CRIME podcast! Interestingly, both awardees feature number 2 prominently in their respective, representative presentations. Here is the big reveal!

Scientific shout-out 2 – FORENSIC FILES II PODCAST (August 25, 2022) “Dog proof” – Bravo to the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Lab! These smarty pants solved a confounding murder via successful feces and saliva tests! Researchers tied the culprit’s poop-soiled shoes to two anonymous (innocent) dogs who resided at the murder site. Put hands and paws together for the folks at FORENSIC FILES II for bringing this specific carriage of justice to the fore!

Scientific shout-out 1 – MADE RIGHT HERE (January 3 and January 17, 2022) “ J Retinger of BioPet Laboratories” – Hear the gripping, two-part origin story of J Retinger, CEO of BioPet Laboratories of Knoxville, Tennessee! J is the brilliant business mind who runs the world’s foremost animal genomics company. The firm’s crown jewel is PooPrints®: the DNA Solution for Dog Waste with which serial sidewalk non-pooper-scooping people are apprehended in the residential communities that they litter. Sniff around the corporate website for details on more BioPet Laboratories goods and services, including the DNA World Pet Registry® (akin to the FBI’s CODIS but reserved for companion animals).

Happy hunting for excellence in true crime dog podcasts, and Yappy New Year!

The End

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