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#2, Race 10, Born
? - Died, 6/5/1999, RIP
Preface By Eric
Shelman,
Letter from Maggie McCurry, Wings for Greyhounds
Because the Needle Nose Crew is an independent organization that
recommends all groups and distributes information, we can afford to
present both sides of an issue. The following story was submitted by
Maggie McCurry of Wings for Greyhounds. She's a greyhound lover like all
of us. Her experience at a track (not Calienté) was not as nice as ours,
and if we ignore it, we are wearing blinders that should not be worn if we
truly care about these dogs. Keep in mind, I still believe that those of
us placing dogs should do just that, and those who are trying to shut down
dog racing are free to pursue their goal; but if those paths cross, tracks
will shut us down, and dogs will die. I am a person who finds homes for
greyhounds. When there are no more greyhounds to place, I'll simply go
home and love my own. E.S. Dear Needle Nose Crew, Everybody knows how much
I love the Greyhounds. Everybody knows how much I do to get them into
homes. The following is in no way a criticism of any of my friends in
Greyhound rescue. I love you all and deeply respect the huge amount of
effort that goes into each and every rescue and adoption. That being said,
let me add a counterpoint to your sunny day in Calienté. . . and I do
this for a Greyhound who died while racing on June 5, 1999, and to whose
death I was an unwilling and inadvertent witness. I pray that her short,
sad  life
was not in vain. We were having an informative night at the track (not
Calienté), admiring the Greyhounds as they ran. It was the 10th race.
Number 2 - cute, black, adorable with eyes like sparkling jet was ready to
race. We did not know that we were watching the last minutes of a precious
life tick away. Like you at Caliente, we had been watching the racers in
awe for an entire evening. The 10th race started. The greyhounds were
flying. It was a fast race. Wow! Then we heard the screaming. Her agony
rained over us like a meteor shower as her leg snapped in two places. The
lights dimmed. The "lead out" boys rushed out. She was
frantically trying to escape the pain as they picked her up. She lay in
their arms, ever trusting, her leg limp and lifeless. In the neon glare of
the jenny pit they took off her silk and hung it on the peg for the next
#2. We watched as they took her into a back room. Surely they'll X-ray?
Surely they'll get her to an emergency room. How idiotic our middle class
sensibilities are in the greyhound racing world. They killed her right
there. The owner wasn't about to pay bills for a dog that would never run
again. They killed her stone dead. At the Rainbow Bridge she has no-one to
wait for; no one ever loved her. If it wasn't for plain old human greed
she would never have been placed in a situation where she could suffer
such an injury. You were fortunate that day at Calienté that you did not
witness such a tragedy. I had to, and it will live with me forever. For
The Animals, always. Maggie McCurry
IDYLLWILD 4TH OF
JULY PARADE!
By Eric Shelman
First, a hearty thank you to four amazing people. Don Laffoon, Grace
Songolo, and Jack and Gretchen Peckham. Without them, we would not have
been able to (comfortably) be a part of the Idyllwild event. Don helped
arrange a book signing for my book, Out of the Darkness, at the Stonehill
Bookstore afterward, and Jack and Gretchen put us up for the weekend,
treating Carole, Mike, Katie, Janie, Linda and me as if we were old
friends! Oh, did I forget to mention the greyhound contingency? There was
Bill, Flight, Cassie, Indy, Addi, Sofie, and Benny, not to mention their
live-in, Hollywood, aka Woody, Wood, Woodhead, and more. I think we were
all old friends by the time we departed, and that includes the dogs.
Anyway, the organizers put us right behind the clowns in the parade, which
was preferable to being behind the classic cars, with their classic
exhaust! As we made our way through the center of town, crowds lined up
and waved at the dogs and us, cheering us on! Many of them called, "I
read about you in the Town Crier!" The Crier is the local weekly
newspaper, and an excellent article was done about the greyhounds by Gary
Squier, the Assistant Editor of the paper. Again, this greyt coverage was
due to Don and Grace's efforts. It was a wonderful piece on the Needle
Nose Crew and included a lot of  trivia
on greyhounds, straight from our trivia sheet. We've got a goal now -- to
get enough greyhounds adopted in Idyllwild by next year, so they won't
even need ours for the parade. We'll come anyway, of course. Any excuse to
spend time with our new friends. After the parade, NNC did a show-n-tell
on the corner while I spent the next three hours in Stonehill Books
meeting customers and signing books. Don even brought Lord Byron and Queen
Farah to the bookstore to spread the greyhound word around. So, it was
indeed a "greyhound book signing". This is a trip I'd highly
recommend to anyone who needs a weekend away. Hmm, let's see. Lunch on the
3rd, courtesy of Don. Dinner that night courtesy of Jack and Gretchen. And
can I possibly leave out the fine pineapple upside-down cake her mother,
Celia made? No way! Breakfast, and I mean breakfast, came courtesy of Don
and Grace at their lovely, art-filled home, and it was one of the nicest
moments I've ever had in the name of the greyhound. While ten greyhounds
rested on Persian rugs, we humans dined on a wonderful egg dish, Greek
olives, ripe cherries, fresh breads, coffee and juice. If I must sum up
the entire experience, let me begin and end by saying it is not only the
people who enchant and welcome you; Idyllwild itself is the first to open
her arms. From the moment you drive through town, you feel the tension
drain away. Two days there relaxes you like a week anywhere else. If this
article has the effect I hope it does, our group next year will fill all
available cabins for the weekend and fill the streets with greyhounds. If
you're not jealous you missed it, you should be!
FOND AND PAINFUL
MEMORIES
By Kathleen Bradley
I have just sadly read Barbara Meyer's touching "Last Will and
Testament of an Extremely Distinguished Dog," and until now, I have
not spoken of the passing of my beloved Gunpowder, nor of Vic the
Magnificent. But you have, and I thank you for your kind remembrance of my
boone companions. Gunpowder came to me as a garage sale acquisition. He
had to find a home, and selected mine. It was a tough time in my life. I
was facing big time surgery, and Gunnie came to me right after the
surgery, and later walked me all over the streets of Monrovia, where we
made our home, to help me recuperate. We were such good pals that Cleo,
Neffertiti, Aloe, Donna Bella, Vic, Ryan and Shiner also came to own me.
When Vic died of a horrible cancer that one day shattered his leg, I
released him in love, because his pain was too great to ease. When Gunnie
died, also of cancer, it was my wails and sobs that filled my poor vet's
hospital, not Gunnie's, who let me hold him and bravely went to the
Rainbow Bridge as I rocked him. I think that nothing short of losing a
child can compare with the pain of losing a greyhound. I have kenneled
dozens of dogs of noble breed, but Greys have a huge and glorious soul
that surpasses any other animal I have known. Barbara is right. The only
fitting tribute to so great a soul is to rescue another. At once. Linda
Brown knows and understands my need to do this, and always has opened her
heart and her kennel to my sobbing self when I come to find, but never to
replace, one of my darlings. Sometimes I think that the gate of heaven
must be just like Linda Brown's ranch, where all of my darlings will be
dancing around at my approach, waiting for me to take them home! My guys
are near as they wait at the Rainbow Bridge, and I have planted a sweet
little orange tree over their earthly remains, but I don't think one ever
stops weeping for the nobility and grace that exits our little lives when
a greyhound is finally free to run in God's wind and smile in His face.
REMEMBRANCES:
Our thoughts and prayers go out to
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