Dogged by bad luck: After her dog,...

Dogged by bad luck: After her dog, Ozu, disappeared during a Nov. 23 burglary of her car, Trisha Fike put up 4,000 flyers in the Hancock Park area and “knocked on every door” in a 56-block area.

She wore a sandwich board. She hired a psychic to make contact with the Pekinese/Tibetan spaniel mix.

Her quest was chronicled on television and in the newspapers, which brought her leads but no Ozu. It also brought her to the attention of the city Public Works Department, which said it had received complaints about the posters. She was ordered to remove them or face a fine of $200 for the first one and $50 for each additional one. That’s nearly $200,000, a bit over the budget of Fike, 24, a USC student.

She complied. “It was very sad because it was my way of publicizing she was gone,” Fike said. As if the loss of the dog wasn’t enough, she says that during the “few minutes” she was gone on an errand, a thief took clothing, a camera and “the only copy of a screenplay I’d worked on for months.”

Sounds as though she should resume her search in Hollywood.

I. Misspeller: I. Magnin bought out Bullocks Wilshire but maintains the historical connection in the grand old building on Wilshire Boulevard. Sort of. The hatbox lids carry gold lettering that says:

I. Magnin

B.W. Willshire .

An Angeleno feels at home most everywhere: Mitchell Ostrom of West L.A. sent along a photo he shot through a bus window “one rainy October day in the little town of Oristano on the island of Sardinia.” It’s a bit blurred but the spray-painted graffiti is legible:

Burn, L.A. Burn!!

“I spent half an hour trying to explain to the local tour director what it meant,” Ostrom says. “He had no idea.”

Window pains: Judy Hammond wonders if the coupon she found for a San Dimas company was “intended for those involved in S&M;” (see excerpt). Notice that “French pains” are cheaper. Ooh la la.

First, Charles and Di . . . : Mattel threw a party for the Big Sisters of Los Angeles group, handing out gifts to more than 100 underprivileged girls, who were also treated to the sight of a real-live Barbie. The glamorous Mattel rep naturally had long blonde hair and a long, frilly white gown. She seemed chirpy as ever even though--well, she showed up alone. A spokeswoman for the event said in puzzlement, “We were expecting Ken.” Keep your chin up, Barbie.

miscelLAny:

The National Hobo Assn., based in Los Angeles, now has a Hobo Hotline, (800) 622-HOBO, for kings and queens of the road interested in contributing their stories to a National Hobo Register.

TRISHA FIKE