The Big Cat

Originally Aired: June 15, 1954

Dragnet #252, "The Big Cat," Sergeant Joe Friday and Officer Frank Smith face an unusual case for the auto theft detail when Clarence Havill reports a bizarre theft. While his carnival truck was broken down at the corner of Fountain and De Longpre, someone broke into the animal cages. Missing are two monkeys, two raccoons, and most alarmingly, a seven-foot black panther named Dandy. Havill managed to recover the shivering monkeys from atop a telephone pole using lettuce as bait, but the panther remains at large somewhere in Los Angeles.

Friday and Smith begin their investigation, aware that a dangerous wild animal is loose in the city. Havill explains the panther has a temper and could be dangerous if it encounters someone. While the raccoons can easily be replaced from the Hollywood Hills, Dandy poses a serious threat to public safety. The detectives must act quickly to locate the escaped panther before someone gets hurt, turning what started as a routine theft report into a race against time.