Many ears hear doggy sing Spears

HEELER SQUEALER: The dog of Matt Hardin of Leslie fetched some serious publicity last week.

Hardin, 19, a sophomore at Arkansas Tech, couldn’t sleep during storms July 21 and took 3-year-old red heeler Riley with him on the porch.

Hardin says, “He starts making this really weird noise, like he’s like growling at the sky. And so I decide to get my Snapchat camera out because it was funny.”

Hardin posted the video on Twitter with the caption, “Is it just me or does Riley sound like he’s singing ‘Toxic’ by Britney Spears?”

As of deadline, the video (arkansasonline. com/729trails/) has been viewed 5.29 million times, retweeted 185,823 times and liked by 453,336 users. It has been shared by countless news outlets and was even featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

One person who hasn’t responded to the video is Spears herself. If she does reach out, Hardin who grew up listening to the pop star says, “Oh my gosh. I will freak out. I will lose my mind.”

Hardin says he’s noticed a change in the pooch’s behavior since going viral: “I think he knows what’s going on because he’s been acting like a celebrity for the past few days.”

After all, Riley is pupular.

EVE OF STEVE: Media veteran Steve Stephens was to be honored last night by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences MidAmerica chapter with a Life Achievement Award at the Shreveport Convention Center in Louisiana. He joins the Gold Circle, which recognizes people dedicating 50 years or more to the TV industry.

Among other things, Stephens is known for his work at Little Rock’s CBS affiliate, where he hosted Steve’s Show and was the evening weatherman.

Stephens says, “I’m grateful to receive this latein-life award. Television opened doors for me that I would not otherwise have had, and set me off on journeys I’m still on.”

Like the “Notable Arkansans” column he cowrites for the Sunday Style section.

MELON HEAVEN: For anyone feeling peckish, Capi Peck, owner of Little Rock’s Trio’s Restaurant since 1986, has the ultimate Southern summer treat: watermelon gazpacho.

An article about Trio’s and a recipe for the chilled soup (arkansasonline. com/729triossoup/) appear in the August/September issue of Garden & Gun magazine.

Peck says about the fruit, “It’s a thing in the South, as you know. Nothing cools you off and nothing … (says) summer like a watermelon.”