Ball Guests Bark Up the Right Tree

Not all of the 1,500 guests at Friday’s third annual Fur Ball swallowed goldfish, but most freely admitted that the local social scene, at least for that night, was going straight to the dogs.

The goldfish, lest anyone get terribly excited, were the cheese-flavored cracker variety, since goldfish munching of the type featured in “A Fish Called Wanda” would have been out of place at a benefit for the San Diego Humane Society. The thrust of the gala was to encourage guests to cast votes--in the form of cash contributions--for any of the dozen or so “celebrity” dogs that vied for the “Acatemy Awards.”

The Fur Ball Committee (an independent humane society support group) plastered the lobby and ballroom floors of the U.S. Grant hotel with mock movie posters celebrating such non-films as “Gone with the Dogs” and “Hello, Doggy.” The group also roped the reception area with red fire hydrants and some members wore dog biscuits as earrings. Magician and former mayoral candidate Loch David Crane, decked out in floppy ears and tail, performed somewhat amazing acts of prestidigitation.

Guests were invited to have their photos taken with such hot-dogging pooches as Alex, the official spokesdog for Stroh’s beer, and Pearl, a circumspect Shih Tzu who was accompanied by her companion and master, actor Martin Milner. Alex later presided over the competition in which Pearl and other party animals were presented to the audience.

The event did have a serious side, earning more than $30,000 for the San Diego Humane Society. Mimi Groom, director of the society’s foundation, said that part of the proceeds might be used to purchase a van to carry animals for visits with abused children.

“We have a new program called ‘Bless the Beasts and the Children,’ in which we will be taking abused animals to abused children,” said Groom. “Animals are good therapy, and there will be a lot of sharing and love flowing through this program.”

In the ballroom, masters of ceremonies Denise Yamada and Art Good joined Alex at the podium; Yamada and Good opened the proceedings with the aid of cue cards, but Alex, putting his best paw forward, ad-libbed.

The crowd displayed an almost surprising enthusiasm for the parade of pets and masters that traversed the stage, especially when B-100 disc jockey Ellen Thomas, who weighs 80 pounds, was dragged quickly on and off by Bonzo, her 200-pound Newfoundland retriever. Other notable owners and pets were San Diego Councilwoman Lucy Killea and Lady Airwolf, a black Labrador; Domino, the Dalmatian mascot of the Del Mar Fire Department, and plastic surgeon Dennis Nigro’s massive Irish wolfhounds, Guido and Scarface.

For the record, Guido and Scarface captured the award in the political category (beating out not only Killea’s canine, but the white Lhaso Apso brought by Councilman Ron Roberts); the mascot category was taken by the Humane Society’s own Scottish terrier, Sandi, and Bonzo, perhaps more through force of bulk than personality, carried the celebrity category.

LA JOLLA--A fresh breeze would have been just the ticket Thursday, a dog-day afternoon if there ever was one, a day on which the thermometer percolated near 100 degrees, and even this seaside neighborhood seemed ready to melt.

So where was John McEnroe when he was most needed?

McEnroe and his fellow contestants in the weekend’s quarterfinal Davis Cup competition between the United States and France were invited to a reception at the home of Virginia and Jack Monday. The players--besides McEnroe, the American team included Andre Agassi, Ken Flach and Robert Seguso--were obliged to attend a team dinner instead, but Davis Cup chairman Gordon Jorgenson and U.S. Tennis Assn. president David Markin turned out to greet a houseful of admiring, tennis-crazed locals.

Jorgenson, a longtime friend of the Mondays (both he and his hosts own adjoining homes in Palm Springs), seemed cucumber-cool despite the heat when the conversation turned to the American team’s prospects in the weekend matches. “The United States will do very well,” he predicted,” and it did better than that, sweeping France 3-0.

Most guests held tickets for the three-day event and talk revolved around backhands and forehands. One man whose animated discussion of the courts never flagged was Philippe Chatrier, president of both the French Tennis Federation and the International Tennis Federation.

Host Monday greeted his guests wearing a new and very prized possession, an official Davis Cup tie. “Now I’ve joined the fraternity,” said Monday proudly. “Not too many guys have one of these.”

The guest list included at least two men who are expected to have considerable influence in the San Diego sporting scene. Superagent Jeremy Kapstein attended with his wife, Linda, and entrepreneur Harry Cooper, who hopes to build a new sports palace in downtown San Diego or Sorrento Hills, escorted Valerie Preiss.

Vangie and Dick Burt also attended. In the mid-1960s, Vangie Burt was Jorgenson’s regular tennis partner when she worked as social director at the Biltmore resort in Phoenix. “We won a few tournaments together,” said Burt. “Gordon was a partner who concentrated --nothing could distract him.”