1982: SUNKEN HOUSEBOAT LAUNCHES NEW CAREER
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In 1982, Fay Faron bought a houseboat in Sausalito. Six weeks later, it sank in a freak storm. Mugged just 36 hours before, Faron suddenly had no home, no furniture, no money, no clothes, no nothing. Her lip was split open and required six stitches. To complete her misery, she took a job she hated and bought a Fiat.
In order to prove her claim that water in the hull was the reason the houseboat sank, Faron had to find the guy who rented the boat just prior to her purchase. She did, in just a couple of days, even though he'd changed his name to a mantra and moved to a cave in Texas. Her attorney was so impressed he hired her to find three "judgement jumpers." She learned two things. The first was that "skiptracers" made a whole lot more money than production assistants at KGO-TV, which is what she was doing at the time. The second was, that at long as she didn't interview people, carry a gun or have car chases, she didn't need a license. |
THE NAME
After being told of a contractor's ability to find leaks in a roof "like a rat dog finds rat," Faron decided to call herself Rat Dog Dick, "the skiptracer who finds people like a rat dog finds rats."
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1984: THE PRESS RELEASE THAT STARTED IT ALL
It's a foggy night. You know, cat paws and all that. Out steps Rat Dog.
"There are two kinds of people in this world," says Rat Dog. "Scoundrels and seekers of scoundrels." She lights her cigarette, pulls her trench coat tight across her giant gazungas and saunters on.
"Scoundrels aren't mean," claims Rat Dog. "Just ornery. "They just don't like having to pay for stuff."
That's where Rat Dog Dick comes in. For $150, she'll find him for you. For $200, she'll date him and dump him.
It's a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it.
"There are two kinds of people in this world," says Rat Dog. "Scoundrels and seekers of scoundrels." She lights her cigarette, pulls her trench coat tight across her giant gazungas and saunters on.
"Scoundrels aren't mean," claims Rat Dog. "Just ornery. "They just don't like having to pay for stuff."
That's where Rat Dog Dick comes in. For $150, she'll find him for you. For $200, she'll date him and dump him.
It's a dirty job but somebody's gotta do it.
1984: THE AD IN THE LOCAL LEGAL NEWSPAPER
Faron took out an ad in the legal newspaper and it wasn't long before the press came calling for a feature article to go with. More press followed and Faron could not help but notice when she got press, she got cases. She created her own press by penning a column for the local neighborhood newspaper, The Marina Times. A year later, "Ask Rat Dog," was syndicated by King Features.
1985: ILLEGAL SKIP-TRACER TURNS LICENSED PRIVATE EYE
Eventually the Department of Consumer Affairs took umbrage to Faron's unlicensed endeavor, declaring she should cease and desist or they'd cease and desist for her. She took their little test - all about rigor mortis and lots of other stuff she never hoped to see - and passed, due largely to Rockford reruns.
1993: "ASK RAT DOG" SYNDICATED BY KING FEATURES
Running in over 60 newspapers including...
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1995: FOXGLOVE MAKES THE NATIONAL NEWS
Faron had already acquired the "Foxglove Case," in which a group of self-described gypsies were targeting San Francisco's elderly for sweetheart scams but one thing that impressed Faron about Flaherty's resume was the fact that she had worked with one of the suspects at a local department store. The profit turned pro-bono case which resulted in numerous articles in magazines like People and Vanity Fair, TV shows like 20/20, and Edgar award-winning author Jack Olsen's true crime, Hastened to the Grave.
1995 PUBLISHED AUTHOR
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1997: ELDERANGELS
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It was the frustration of trying to make a criminal case against the perpetrators in the Foxglove case that spurred Faron to co-found ElderAngels, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit to help victims of financial elder abuse by offering reduced fees for those who cannot pay. Faron successfully lobbied the California State legislature to make financial elder abuse a felony rather than a misdemeanor.
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2010: FERRY GODMOTHER OF NEW ORLEANS
In 2001, Faron sold her detective agency and moved to Louisiana, where she was named “Ferrygodmother of New Orleans” in 2016 for saving the local ferry system. In 2020, she was awarded Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award” for her investigative endeavors and community activism.
Marquis Who's Who
Lifetime Achievement Award
Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Fay Faron with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Ms. Faron celebrates many years' experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field.
Since moving to New Orleans in 2001, Faron has been using her investigative skills for the betterment of her Algiers Point community. As a community activist she is credited for saving the Canal Street ferry, honored by the City Council in 2012 with Resolution B-12-347 naming her, "Ferrygodmother of New Orleans." She was designated "Outstanding Neighbor of 2017" by the Algiers Point Association and received special achievement awards from the Friends of the Cabildo in 2006 & 2008.
Faron served on the Louisiana Toll Task Force (2008). She is president of the Friends of the Ferry (2006-present) and the Ferry Foundation (2007-present). She is an advisory board member of the Algiers Point Association (2014-present); and serves on the Old Algiers Leadership Council (2017-present.)
Since moving to New Orleans in 2001, Faron has been using her investigative skills for the betterment of her Algiers Point community. As a community activist she is credited for saving the Canal Street ferry, honored by the City Council in 2012 with Resolution B-12-347 naming her, "Ferrygodmother of New Orleans." She was designated "Outstanding Neighbor of 2017" by the Algiers Point Association and received special achievement awards from the Friends of the Cabildo in 2006 & 2008.
Faron served on the Louisiana Toll Task Force (2008). She is president of the Friends of the Ferry (2006-present) and the Ferry Foundation (2007-present). She is an advisory board member of the Algiers Point Association (2014-present); and serves on the Old Algiers Leadership Council (2017-present.)
2022
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