Friday, October 23, 2009

Friday Hound Blogging

Oscars, Emmys, Pulitzers, Nobels, every organization has prizes, usually reserved for the most talented, most popular, most insightful and most respected members of their particular group. And the overlords are no different, gathering each year in the Hollywood of the Midwest, Abilene Kansas to celebrate themselves, their profession and the fact that they all managed to avoid gainful employment for another year.

And who better to chronicle this night of stars than our good friend Dave Bergmeier, Senior Entertainment Editor for the Abilene Reflector Chronicle Observer Times Beacon Press Dispatch Post Review. Take it away, Editor Dave:

Two of the modern icons in the greyhound industry, Gary Guccione, secretary-treasurer of the National Greyhound Association, and Kay Smith of Frederick, Okla., were recognized during induction ceremonies Thursday. No seriously, they were recognized. Some people saw them in the parking lot and said, "Hey, aren't you two part of that national embarrassment called greyhound racing? You know the "sport" that needlessly kills and injures thousands of innocent and otherwise healthy dogs every year?"

Now, since Gary Guccione is the chief spokesperson for National Greyhound Association that means he has the office Word-A-Day calendar on his desk as overlord official spokesperson, so he took the occasion to mount an eloquent and spirited defense of unit exploitation...er...greyhound racing: "No," he said. "That's another Gary Guccione."

Well, that caught the crowd off guard long enough for the pair to get inside where Charles “Chuck” Marriott, St. Petersburg, Fla., summed up his feelings succinctly: “We are honoring two of the most industrious and popular members of the industry. Why Kay alone is directly and indirectly responsible for the death of thousands of dogs over her long career, and Gary has told so many lies about greyhound racing if you ask him his name he has to look at his driver's license to make sure he tells you the truth."

Guccione got his start in the industry through his father, whom he praised during his induction. “My dad told me six years ago when he was dying how proud he was of me,” Guccione said, "He told me he had really lowered his expectations after I flunked fifth grade for the third time, but he was glad to see at least I didn't become a breeder."

Guccione said the National Greyhound Association is one of the most diverse group of men and women of any professional organization. It is filled with doctors, attorneys, dentists and blue collar workers. “They taught me so much about the human race,” he said. "Well, the part that don't have souls that is."

Marriott who served for six years as NGA president, called Guccione one of his dearest friends. “No one has more integrity in the industry than Gary Guccione,” Marriott said, adding that "no one in the industry can even spell integrity," so Guccione "doesn't really have much competition."

Herb “Dutch” Koerner, Hays, who was on the NGA board for 18 years, offered his congratulations. He said Guccione’s professionalism was always on display and he was a natural spokesman for the association. Then Koerner's probation officer called and reminded him part of the terms of his probation were that he couldn't associate with "certain unsavory elements." He left soon after.

“Kay Smith has been a team player for the industry,” Presenter Vince Berland, of Abilene said , noting that she was a supporter of selling slow dogs for medical research, of puppy culls and the occasional "accident" out behind the kennel, now staples within the industry.

Berland said he never forgot that heartless emptiness when he was told in February 2001 that, after another year of losing money, the Smith operation had been hit with a mysterious fire, he and Abilene greyhound producer Jack Sherck immediately went down to help Smith fill out her insurance papers.

OK, just a minute here. "Greyhound producer" is an actual job title in the industry? "Producer?" Like we produce cars, or toothpaste? Gee, it's almost like they don't think of the dogs as living, breathing, conscious entities or something.

Well, let's not quibble about whether the dogs are actually, you know, living creatures or anything, because the festivities are not over, right Senior Entertainment Editor Bergmier?

On an unusually cool mid-October evening, National Greyhound Association enthusiasts gathered for an evening of one-liners and stories about a popular couple in the industry that warmed the hearts of those in attendance.

Well, would have warmed their hearts. If any of them had hearts that is.

On Wednesday night at the Abilene Elks Club, about 240 people attended a banquet for Dennis and Mary Rider. As part of the festivities leading up to the Riders receiving an award from the NGA for their contributions to the industry, they smiled and laughed at stories told about them. They smiled and laughed and took the ribbing in stride as did their family.

Well, or course they did Senior Editor Bergmeir. After all, they weren't the ones dying and breaking bones. That was left to the dogs. The Riders were free to enjoy the good food, which we hope was more healthy than the dinner the dogs ate, huh Forrest?

Forrest is a little reserved, but very friendly. He is very mellow for a young boy. He is affectionate; he will put his feet in your lap to snuggle with you. When he gets excited he will play bow and stomp his feet to get you to play with him. Forrest would do well in a working family home, with well mannered children, 8 and up. He is good with other dogs of all sizes and would probably be fine as an only dog. He is a little vocal when first left alone, so he would do best in a single family home. For more information about this dog, and other rescued racing greyhounds looking for homes, go here. If you don't know about the plight of racing greyhounds go here.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Slowly going through this, I can't take too much too fast. Can't get through the day if I do.I hope others are better at it than me. But I remember Ireland. That land of gorgeously cut Waterford crystal, and beautiful , antique sterling chalices and cups and and castles and such incredible beauty! And how I remember the hills and the seas . Just a frothing, foaming sea climbing up rich green cliffs and such clean and pure majesty. And now you speak of just one,dead and dumped , pregnant with six pups, Greyhound
bitch , wrapped in a blanket, but not to console or to comfort.To hide. To hide one more atrocity. To hide the ruthlessness and the barbaric and the wretched from something so evil and anticipated, such as this gigantic tumor! Of course, they have tumors. The 4-d meats and toxic concoctions and waste they deliberately throw these scavenging dogs is not only heartless and devastating to their health, it is truly all planned. It's cheap. They treat them worse than pigs and worse than goats, because they are simply so easy to hurt. And so easy to control. And of course, so very easy to breed.
The ears , sliced off meticulously at the point of tattoos so no-one can ever find the criminals who did this and will continue to do this, shows , as usual, no mercy. And absolutely, no conscience.
Ireland. The base for many like, Marena Riggins, like ,and probably Mike Greene who import some of these same bitches, but hopefully, just the "winners".

Anonymous said...

Oh my God! Did you see the pictures of Gary Guccione and Chuck Marriot and Kay Smith? Gary is such a little man! Look at the size of him! And he actually can make decisions? Decisions! Like what is better to club the Greyhounds with? The plaque he can barely hold or a bat?
And then you got "Chuck" , I guess like in "Chucky Cheese" or "chucking cheese"' or just "upchuck". Man. He is dead looking! I wouldn't put anything near me that he even looked at. Seriously Chuck. Get a life. You need oxygen or a mortician.
But here's the true beauty Queen. Kay Smith. Oh Kay! Kay! Kay!
You , you are truly Splendor in the Grass. Why, you are such a Temptress! Kay Smith, with that face and that hair and that incredible style and the body to go with it. Oh Kay. And the TEETH! You, you, just take my breath away.

Anonymous said...

"Dutch" is the guy you really gotta love. Come on! He was openly a crook and he was the PRESIDENT of the NGA?
So, he wanted to BREED more and the VICE PRESIDENT, Sam BURDETTE, wants to KILL more?
These people are ridiculous. These people are idiots. And these people will eventually be prosecuted for any more crimes.
But maybe they can't read in Kansas , either.

Anonymous said...

If you read Jack Swint's article about the Greyhounds being slaughtered for the slightest injury, these people are easy to decipher. They're merely wicked, backward farmers with no education and little brains. And as for feelings, right.
Dean Miner, the guy who will probably go to jail for just about everything having to do with Greyhound crimes and theft with racetrack money, he and Lance Berland had quite a few emails between each other regarding executing the injured Greyhounds. Talking like they are some kind of "mafia hit men" to take down whatever is "a nuisance", Miner complains in one email that one Greyhound he got rid of was just a "cheap little dog that made us a lot of money".
To which Lance Berland replied, on January 27, 2008, "As for rthe injuries, five of these dogs are older and they are all males...put them down if they can't be expected to return to racing".
That was at 11:05 P.M. And it just goes to show you that there is never even one iota or speck of remorse. It's just called a "nightcap". And lights out.

Anonymous said...

Oh man. IM, I can't take any more.
You got the pictures and then you got the speeches, and then you got this guy Dave Bergmeier with the Abiine "Reflector-Chronicle" and he is the Editor and the Publisher?
And all these misfits patting one another on their backs about all the babies they had and all those babies are now there and praising their parents for all their honesty and hard work and the sick asides with a Dalmation who loved to kill cats and then all the laughing in between and then more clapping and a tumbler for draws and someone gets another puppy? To kill?
Do thee people not see who and what they truly are?
Bums.

Anonymous said...

What else is new? The dogs ate rat and mouse bait? Pray tell, yet another healthy serving of all those specialties served on silver platters for these poor , starving, betrayed dogs?
I love the way no vet ever knows WTF is going on.
Professionalism gets you everywhere in the Greyhound Racing "Industry".

Anonymous said...

May all those who eat, drink and be merry, at the expense of these precious greyhounds, choke on their food.

Anonymous said...

Ironicus is heading up the week with HOLLYWOOD!
Woo Baby! We gonna FLY!
We goin' with all them STARS to HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD!
You lookin' DOWN, now?
Whadya SEE?
KAY SMITH!
GET OUT!
KAY goin' for all her Browns!
She lookin' Smart!
She goin' for Tooth Whiteners.
(She know what she gotta do for them OSCARS!)
KAY SMITH!
Hell!
You know what ?
I bet she related to WILL!
C'MON!
She got that Coy look.
See all them Sexy Threads?
Oh YA!
KAY SMITH.
Gonna be a easy ride for you.
SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTHE.

Anonymous said...

No. No. No. No. NO!
NOT goin' to Hollywood and seein' anythin' but
MIKE GREEN!
He's the guy who got all that extra cash!
(cause that boy ain't tellin')
Oh ya, BABY! I'm the ONE!
We can go to SPAGO'S !
We can go to HATFIELDS'!
You got a load of dough to blow and I'm your QUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!
Love ya , Hon.

Anonymous said...

Stupid. It's just all too stupid!
Do you think they are all going to actually BELIEVE a MOVIE would be MADE about ANY of these LOSERS?
Well, of course, Mr. Pompous, himself, Hevener, but even still.
Ron Hevener making it to HOLLYWOOD would be like Sarah Palin making it to MARS! (even if she said she could see it from her hick back doors)

Anonymous said...

Who's the better "Love Machine", man?
You got Joe Manchin doin' "the slide" and he got the witness.
Then you got Silvio Berlusconi and he don't even need no witnessing at all. He don't even need "the slide"! The girls are keeping him high.
And the Press makes sure he stays there.

Anonymous said...

Marena.
Listen to that name.
How it is playful.
Has a tight little bounce to it.
She already dresses like a star.
Not too much skin.
Not total whore.
Almost a subtle kind of "fanning".
Like Uma Thurman.
Both so used to violence.
Kinky.
Hip.
Quiet.
Lethal.
They both have that certain irrepressible instinct.
That rythmn.
They both look like they were born to kill.

Anonymous said...

I'm prayin' for Juliette Lewis. (didn't she do Cape Fear with De Niro?)
Man. Those two kept you on edge all the way. So innocent. Yet, so teasing. De Niro? Whew. Biting his victim? So "on". Jumped right into the mind of the criminal! And I think he really liked it.
Oh Yeah. These two. De Niro with his quiet, perverted flair and calm and Juliette to totally lose it on Diane Whitely. Texas shoot'em up style. Boots. Bullwhips. Black net stockings. All at the whirligig. Oh God yeah. Juliette's my kind of trouble.

Anonymous said...

Audition.

I am Joanne Tombin.
You think it is easy being me?
You think I enjoy being called Mrs. Tomblin, from West Virginia?
You think I don't know what's going on with those wild dogs and wild baiting and all the dead Greyhounds buried every which way you look and hike?
You don't understand.
I am middle age.
I could never leave Earl Ray Jr. Especially now.
We have gone on far too long and far too badly for things to ever change.
He destroyed not only me but his only teenage son through all his corrupt and evil doings. And it's way too late for me to leave. I have nowhere to go. And I live in utter fear ever sceond of of every day. His guns are everywhere.
Patricia Arquette, if you do play me, remember that I was not always who I am today. I once had a heart. And I once had a soul. And once upon a time I thought I could change it all. Even Earl Ray Sr. But, as always, I came up empty. And sometimes I think all those executed dogs got a better deal years ago.
It was nasty. But it was quick.
Patricia , if you do play me, make sure you always wear pearls. It makes you look younger.
And makes you feel alive.

Anonymous said...

"Prizes". Kind of like who's got the best "wev".
Hollywood has always been Hollywood for a lot of things. Sometimes they do reveals of great human beings' accomplishments. Other times, they do outstanding documents of human victories, internationally. Well. We got a lot to cover for character or "lack of", in Greyhound "Industries". But I think what may be self-healing is the fact that maybe in Hollywood, we could try.
Ironicus Maximus, with all his insights, knowledge and passion, has contributed many years to this breed.
"101 Dalmations" starred Glenn Close as Cruella Deville. She, as always, was spectacular.
Jane Fonda highlighted the executions of horses in "They Shoot Horses Don't They?" and it is something that stuck in minds even until this present day.
But how fantastic would it be that somehow, we get the very cream of the crop in all of acting capabilities, to serve this forgotten dog, the Greyhound? Just once. To see Matt Damon play the cold bastard Earl Ray Jr. and for Mickey O'Rourke to play his sleazy puppet, Joe Manchin?
How, with the piss-poor upbringing of the three little Tomblin gangsters, played by Dustin Hoffman as Earl Ray Sr., that West Virginia took on a life of its very own.
With torture. With intimidation. With all the ingredients set into guns. To rule with absolute power and to extend into every corrupted arm of government, particularly promoting the NRA.
Hollywood. Tinsel Town.
Or not.

Anonymous said...

Ok. Well this is it for me.
Al Pacino. Scarface. I have never, ever experienced such withdrawal symptoms coming off of a movie like that and I don't believe I ever will. The violence! The graphics! And all the acting to turn it into one of the most memorable experiences of all times. The freedom to kill. The freedom to mutilate. The freedom to do whatever the fuck comes into a "human" mind. And it was frightening to realize people could actually do that and what was worse, that they got away with it.
Al Pacino. Not many could have ever played that and especially the way he did.
How cool would that be, that knowing this kind of ability played that part so meticulously well, he could interpret all informations, all facts of point, all perceptions on a blog just because he really does feel the "animal".
All Pacino. To be Ironicus Maximus. Perfect.

Anonymous said...

Scarface was way too violent for me. Horrible.
But I got a "confession".
My first crush on a movie star was Michael Douglas.
I'm at a miserable, strict, Catholic , all girls' school and this GORGEOUS guy comes on the TV in "Streets of San Francisco".
Are you kidding me?
MICHAEL DOUGLAS!
A blonde, blue-eyed, macho, chip on his shoulder , and wind in his hair, kind of guy, and he's staring through the tube, MAD, , looking at ME? With BRACES? And the NUNS?
Oh I have sinned Sister MARY!
Put me in seclusion!
Throttle my brains out!
I'm watching him, AGAIN!
So, I am transfixed and "faithfully" for however long he was on that super-charged, police drama. Then what does he do? He goes international with
"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and DISAPPEARS!
He DUMPS me back, alone, with the nuns for "Prayers and Thanksgivings"!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
What were you THINKING?

So with all the "agony and ecstacy" of life and death and how it turns events into catastrophes or victories, I say, Michael Douglas to play Jack Swint as the very courageous "undercover".
And Michael Douglas......Thanks For The Memories.

Anonymous said...

I didn't get a chance to say this until now but you got all the writers down pat and we all know how great they are but I would just love it if you had Ted Danson a shit-eyed gay alcoholic with four Bichon Frises who gets drunker by the hour as he waits for dates that never show up.
This sets him up to attack all "the crackers" and "rednecks " on line and could be something he'd just live to do. And all the rest of the writers either think it's funny or get extremely nervous that he's going to reveal his cover or others.
In any case, he's good for the first two drinks, after that, not so good.
Ok. That's my two cents worth.