THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 21, 1995 TAG: 9504210628
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: GUY FRIDDELL
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
I was set to trash a flier from the morning's mail, but a line caught my eye about an auction to take place Sunday ``For the Dogs.''
The dogs are greyhounds. More than 50,000 of the breed are killed annually when, still young, they are deemed too slow to race.
Those figures come from the National Greyhound Adoption Program. Among its leaders are Sam and Gay Latimer of Chesapeake.
Owners swear by the dogs as gentle pets. To watch a greyhound skimming across a field is to think of a jet plane, a blur in the blue, as it breaks the sound barrier.
The greyhound is a diplomat from afar, lean, polite, a little aloof at first, but one with experiences he'd be happy to share, given time. He has known rigors and a regimen at which others can only guess. He seems an aristocrat, forbearing, genteel, so much so that many dogs might seem gauche in his company.
The auctions, one silent, the other live, will occur under tents on the lawn stretching in front of Rowena's sweets emporium and The New Leaf florists on the 700 block of West 22nd St. in Norfolk.
To be auctioned Sunday are items donated by merchants and others in Ghent. Among objects in the silent auction are gift certificates from several restaurants.
In the live auction is a basket with a bottle of champagne and two tickets to the upcoming Bruce Hornsby concert, along with a backstage pass. ``That's a hot item,'' said Laurel Quarberg of New Leaf.
On sale will be hot dogs - regular and chili - barbecue, and soft drinks, reasonably priced. ``We want this to be a family day,'' said Quarberg.
The silent auction will occur between 12:30 p.m. and 1:45 p.m.
In a pause between 1 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. there will be an award to Suffolk Sen. Fred Quayle for sponsoring the bill banning greyhound racing in Virginia. Maine is the only other state with such a safeguard.
Between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. the Sawyer Sisters will sing melodies from the 1940s. They offered their act as a benefit when they learned it was for the sake of greyhounds. Two of them own greyhounds.
For the live auction between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., the guest auctioneer will be Jimmy Fields of Lili's in Ghent.
The three sisters from Virginia Beach will sing a bittersweet blend of songs from the decade dominated by World War II. One thinks of Jo Stafford intoning ``You Belong to Me'' in her sonorous, honking Southern voice. What they sing from those days is bound to swing.
In 1992, the neighboring shops staged on the lawn a mock wedding of 150 plastic pink flamingos. ``For two days we were feverishly decorating them in fake jewelry and costumes,'' said Sarah Munford of The New Leaf. ``The bride in lace and the groom in top hat sold for $100 each. So did Barbara Bush with cotton for her hair and faux pearls.''
The party raised $8,000 for the Norfolk SPCA. They aim to do as well this time. by CNB