Fund-Raiser Benefits S.D. Hebrew Homes

LA JOLLA —  The Guardians, founded in 1945 as a men’s support group for San Diego Hebrew Homes, has modernized itself in recent years to the point that the current membership not only includes a few women, but-- le plus ca change --the wives of chairmen Allan Ziman and Howard Cohen were invited to share in mounting Saturday’s 36th annual fund-raising dinner and dance.

Helene Ziman and Toby Cohen undertook responsibilities for such little details as the arrangements in the ballroom at the Sheraton Grande Torrey Pines, which extended to Columbus on the bandstand and summer garden plantings of moss and orchids, strung with miniature lights, on the tables.

“We didn’t really have a theme, so we went for elegance,” said Helene Ziman.

Her husband, Allan, said the theme was a reprise of all the previous years, or meeting the support goal pledged to the homes--in East San Diego and the new Seacrest Village in Encinitas--by the Guardians. According to Ziman, outgoing president of the Guardians and continuing president of the Hebrew Homes, the evening generated $50,000 of the $500,000 the group has pledged to the development of the Encinitas campus.

A guest list of 350 turned out to dance, dine on salmon and filet of beef and listen with expectation as master of ceremonies Gabriel Wisdom of KGB-FM interrupted the proceedings through the evening to announce the winners of a series of cash prizes that culminated with a grand prize award of $10,000.

Among the guests were Alyce and Morris Wax, Dottie and David Garfield, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Harriet and Richard Levi, Jeanne and Art Rivkin, Elaine and Murray Galinson, Melissa and Michael Bartell, Alberta and Charles Feurzig, Joyce and Paul Rabb, and Linda and Michael Ellentuck.

SAN DIEGO--Other than the Guardians event, the social calendar went to the dogs over the weekend, first at Saturday’s “Canine Capers” benefit for the Helen Woodward Animal Center, and then Sunday afternoon at the second annual International Dog Diners’ Club romp for the San Diego Humane Society.

Canine Capers, the third annual gala given by the Woodward Center, drew about 250 guests to frisk under the stars in the courtyard of Fairbanks Village Plaza; it was estimated that proceeds of the dance and auction would approximate the $30,000 earned last year. Funds were earmarked for the center’s animal services and education programs, including the PET (Pet Encounter Therapy) project that takes companionable pooches to a total of 23 convalescent homes and similar facilities around the county, and classes for children that teach respect for the environment and animal life.

Woodward Center spokeswoman Lynne Murphy said the organization put together a unique event that would reflect the unique status of the center, which she said is the only facility in the United States that offers so wide a range of programs and services. The efforts were a little giddy at times, as with the black dog dishes used as bases for the floral centerpieces; tucked among the flowers in each, however, was a color photograph and a printed description of a dog up for adoption at Woodward’s shelter.

The event was largely designed for human consumption, but a quintet of critters were invited to take over the dance floor at dusk and perform a number of astonishing feats, among which were the successful scaling of a feline jungle gym by a frisky cat, and the antics of a trio of dogs that posted letters in a mailbox and rode scooters, just as dogs used to do on the old Ed Sullivan Show.

Even a sheep got into the act, and, although sheep--except for black ones, of course--generally aren’t known for much more than grazing and bleating at inappropriate moments, this one quite stole the show by waving at the audience. After the four-legged friend were sent off to their well-deserved suppers, guests browsed buffets spread by a number of area restaurants and danced to the Heroes.

Like many events, this one offered both a raffle and an extensive silent auction. There were differences, however, in the selection of items, which included a “day of canine beauty” for a lucky pet; a single membership in the President’s Associates of the San Diego Zoo (this usually costs $1,000); six weekends of boarding at Woodward’s Club Pet, and, perhaps most unusual of all, 5,000 bricks, mortar not included.

Muffet Callender and Sharon Stein co-chaired a committee that included Sherry Ahern, Nancy McRae, Ann Yeakley, Joe McCarter, Shelly Stuart, Diana Long, Ann Allbrandt, Michaelyn Provencia, Doreen Erwin, Sam Figueroa, Susan Rhodes, Marlene Hanson, Joye Sabel and Candace Sears.

As utterly improbable as it may sound, there truly is a group named the International Dog Diners’ Club, and it actually does espouse the adoption in the United States of relaxed French restaurant regulations, which allow man’s best buddies access to the humblest bistros and grandest dining rooms.

This local organization, founded by restaurateur George Munger and friend-to-the-four-legged Nancy Hester, has about 75 homo sapiens as members. The group is headed, however, by a pair of pooches, Munger’s dog Louie, a 100-pound mixed-breed Golden Labrador, who serves as president, and by Hester’s Golden Lab, Chelsea, who is second in command and but a heartbeat from the presidency.

On Sunday, the club took over a corner of the grounds of the Rancho Santa Fe Polo Club for the second annual Red, White and Blue Gala, given in honor of Independence Day as a benefit for the San Diego Humane Society. The event earned more than $2,000, which Hester said would “buy a lot of dog and cat food” for residents of the Humane Society’s shelter.

While somewhat tongue-in-cheek in tone--Munger said that he doubts his club, or its proposal, is likely “to sweep the country”--the event did proceed on a well-organized basis and offered numerous diversions and activities for both pets and owners. Guests were asked to dress both themselves and their dogs in patriotic colors, a request honored somewhat in the breach, although sometimes with imagination, as in the case of pranksters Jane and John Murphy, who brought a decorated leash, but no pooch.

While most of the dogs that accompanied the 200 or so masters seemed mesmerized by the unaccustomed company of so many canines, the majority were able to break out of their trances long enough to participate in musical chairs and other games. The silliness continued at the table where Elizabeth Zongker, who brought along a crystal ball and a sign that read “Astrologer to the Dogs,” worked up canine horoscopes. A few humans requested the service for themselves, and a relieved Zongker complied with the comment “I’m really more attuned to people.” The dogs made do with Frosty Paws brand ice cream while their owners dined on bratwurst, roasted corn on the cob and white wine.

Retired Marine Corps general Lou Metzger and his wife, Jane, joined a crowd that included pianist Barry Levich, Penne and Ted Horn, Darlene and Jim Milligan, Neil and Sharron Derrough with Zephyr; Anne and Sam Armstrong with Cocoa, a friendly animal they described as a mutt; Linda and Chuck Owen with Harriett, their Lhasa apso of 14 years; Berneice and Dempsey Copeland with Bear; Veryl Mortenson, and Janet Gallison with granddaughter Bailey Gallison.