We'll Make Great Pets

"We couldn't even kick people out at the end of the show," Heien added, noting the androgynous appeal of Richie Rich and Traver Rains's label. "We thought this was so gay that they would never want to be in the same tent," Heien said of the vast difference of conceptual visions between the urban studwear of RyanKenny and the flamboyant club-ready confections of Heatherette. As only six-foot-something drag queens can, Lady Bunny pushed through the crowd with Amanda LePore in tow, but after getting her paws and tail stepped on a few too many times, The Bitch gave up the fight and headed back across the street to, yep, the DKNY party at the Victor.

Sunday afternoon offered a different, curiously low-key entrée to fabulousness, thanks to The Bitch's Big Important Music Industry Friend Justin Kleinfeld of rephlektor inkorporated, who snuck the hound into a private set of Desyn Masiello and Sasha and John Digweed aboard the yacht Biscayne Lady. About 300 polite, gentle, soft-spoken guests partied congenially on the boat, clearly intending to pay respect to the DJ duo. Indeed the pair dominated the festival, from a triumphant kickoff at Global Gathering to nightly SRO sets around the Beach and in downtown Miami.

Among the twirling, fist-pumping crowd on the Biscayne Lady were Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros fame, Ali Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi from the Deep Dish collective, Junkie XL (a.k.a. Tom Holkenborg), and long-time promoter Carmel Ophir. "I've worked with Sasha and John for fifteen years," Ophir observed. "No one deserves more or makes less of a deal about success than they do."

Michelle Dalmeida, a twenty-year-old from Tampa, wasn't the only passenger who didn't want to leave the yacht and return to mundane existence. "We've been partying all night every night and getting up at four o'clock," Dalmeida sighed. "Monday, though, it's up at eleven, on the road, and back to work."

---

Dogs in Trouble

When Robbie Coy began a no-kill dog shelter five and a half years ago, he had no idea its services would be in such demand. Coy balked at the treatment of animals at public shelters, where a dog with a minor cough would be considered unfit for adoption and euthanized.

Naming his organization for a beloved canine companion who had died, he quickly developed Sabbath Memorial Dog Rescue. Today Coy maintains the health and happiness of 50 dogs at any given time. Between food, rent, utilities, and employees, his costs run about $10,000 a month, all of it financed by a T-shirt vending business. About four or five dogs are adopted each week, but the empty spaces are quickly filled by others.

Coy is having trouble making ends meet. He recently lost the lease to the building where the dogs are housed, at 3777 NW 46th St. in Miami. Although it now appears he might work things out and be able to remain at the site, Coy worries about the tight budget and would like to send out a missive to his dog-loving neighbors. "Financial support is almost impossible to get," he concedes. "But finding homes for the dogs is the most important thing."

Coy also accepts donations of food and supplies, and welcomes volunteers. Find out more about the organization at www.sabbathrescue.org, or call 305-799-1567.