The Cost of Greyhound Racing
I just read your May 19 story on the greyhound industry, "Heartbreak at 45 mph." I want to make one comment about this line: "Then again, if she didn't race, I wouldn't have her now." While I love my own greyhound very much, I don't want to encourage an industry where dogs die or are injured just so I can have one as a pet. I understand your logic — up to a point. I wonder how many greyhounds don't make it to this happy life. Many dogs are "washed out" before ever making it to the track. Is our desire for these gorgeous creatures worth the suffering they endure? The answer is no. I can't justify an unknown quantity of dogs suffering just so I can have a greyhound as a pet.
Teresa Glover
Philadelphia
No Doll Deserves This
I have been to three productions at Palm Beach Dramaworks over the years, two good, one mediocre. I do not know any of the actors, the director, or anyone else involved with the current production of A Doll's House. I have not seen this production of the play, but I take you at your word that there is much good about it but that the lead actress does not do a good job.
Having said that, I must say that I have never read a review of any production as savage as Brandon K. Thorp's "Godzilla Does Norway" on October 22. You could have expressed your displeasure in ways less personally hurtful to the actress involved.
Her acting may have been overblown, it may have been poor, but that does not excuse your lack of manners in how you chose to express your opinions. Surely her acting, however horrible, was not as overdone as your prose in describing it.
You owe this young lady an apology. Not for your opinions but for the manner in which you decided to express them. She is a human being. Please treat her — and future subjects — as such.
Brian Reeves
Palm Beach
This Land Is Not Your Land
I object to the title of your October 10 article "Whose Land Is It, Anyway" [about Art Expressions Gallery's recent show "This Land Is My Land"]. This title makes it seem that yet another immigrant group has title to the land. Excuse me, but neither is entitled to what belongs to the indigenous people of North America.
Hispanics came from Europe, as did northern Europeans. Neither of them has rights to the land that they stole thanks to genocide. Study your history. Your misrepresentation hurts the indigenous with your blatant disregard for real history and facts.
Jana Stacy
Fort Lauderdale
Don't Presume With the Dog Men
I felt that the tone of your story "Taking Down the Dog Men" (October 22) suggested a presumption of guilt.
I have owned American pit bull terriers for 13 years and have never seen a fight (and don't want to), but I can tell you that all of the items the men had at their homes are very common. Many breeders learn how to give IVs in case puppies come down with Parvo. Most APBTs have old scars — they have little hair, and even minor accidents leave scars. My dog was bitten by a schipperke, and she had the scar for the rest of her life.
This case sounds a lot like the Floyd Boudreaux case in Louisiana. They were acquitted because there was no evidence (similar to this case — no witnesses). All the dogs were killed within 24 hours of seizure. If you are innocent, you are supposed to get your property back, which is now impossible.
Laura Dapkus
Texas
Laughing Out Loud at Jenny
I picked up a copy of the November 5 New Times to read "Eat or Be Eaten" (Gail Shepherd, November 5) while I was having lunch at a local Nature's Way Café. I want you to know that by the time Jenny got hit by the chicken truck, I was laughing out loud, all by myself!
Every time I get one of those letters, I want to scream, because I know somebody is going to bite. God bless the scam baiters. May they continue to excel in their imagination.
Marie Tynan
Palm Beach County
Audience With a Film Critic
Jeez, you really slammed me to the ground with your November 3 review of my documentary Audience With the Queens! This movie is the first in a series and is meant to introduce the characters. It would be difficult to go deeper into characters in a 30-minute episode. I did all the production myself. You're right about the sound quality; I do wish it were better. It's my first film venture, and I'm still learning. But thanks for the review.
Robbie Hopcraft
Key West
