CITY FOCUS:Looking out for guide dogs

Puppies, politicians and partners in training and living with Guide Dogs for the Blind gathered Sunday at Tivoli Too for the “Labs and Lunch.”

More than $37,000 was raised. Donations will help cover veterinary care for the guide dogs and puppies throughout Orange County and gave sighted people a glimpse of what it means to be blind.

Mayor Tony Iseman and Councilwoman Elizabeth Schneider were among the 200 participants who ate dessert blindfolded, to get a taste of what is like for blind people to cope with tasks that sighted don’t even think about — reaching into a cabinet for a glass or to switch on a lamp. Just imagine how intimidating it would be to cross Coast Highway without vision.

Vision is what the supporters of Guide Dogs for the Blind had when they established the national headquarters in 1942 in San Rafael, the first school on the West Coast and now one of the largest in the world.

The program is entirely funded by private donors. Services are free. Volunteers foster puppies until they are ready for training at the headquarters.

Training takes about five months and includes complex concepts such as avoiding traffic, intelligent disobedience and responsible decision making. Once trained by expert instructors, the dogs are matched with their unsighted human partners.

The San Rafael headquarters is where Michael Osborn of Laguna Beach met his canine partner, Hastings, members of the Orange County Friends Committee of Guide Dogs for the Blind that hosted Sunday’s fundraiser.

Fostering families were lauded at the luncheon. They are seen as heroes. How hard it must be to give up the puppy you have raised and cherished.

“I couldn’t do it,” said dog lover Schneider, who shares her home with Sophie, a cocker spaniel, Bailey, a long-haired dachshund, and step-dog, Kaluha, a black lab.

“There is no way I could spend two years raising a dog and then give it up. I really admire those people.”

Shawn Howie said raising a guide-dog-to-be puppy is a “real blessing and one of the meaningful contributions in my life.”

Susan and Dave Gerke co-chaired the event committee which included Cheryl and Carl Post, Nancy and Len Joseph and Fred James, all of Laguna.

Monarch Resorts and table sponsors also contributed to the success of the fundraiser.

“A very special and heartfelt expression of appreciation was given to June Neptune, operator of Tivoli Too and legendary animal lover for her generous support that insured the maximum success for Labs and Lunch,” Osborn said.

For additional information on how to make a donation or on the Orange County Friends Committee visit www.guidedogs.com or call (800) 295-4050.