Golf tournament to help Guild Dogs of America

A golf tournament to benefit the Guide Dogs of America Foundation will tee off on Mon., Aug. 28 at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village.

To participate, a paid reservation must be received by Thurs., July 20. The $400 entry fee includes one playing spot and the awards banquet. To attend the banquet only as a guest costs $65.

For entry information, e-mail Sheila Scott-Kendall of Calabasas at sscott707@aol.com.

For more information about the event or sponsorship opportunities, call (818) 833-6476 or visit www.gdafoundation.org.

The annual golf classic is cochaired by Kendall and Cherry Teter, who are volunteers at Guide Dogs of America Foundation.

The Guide Dogs of America school in Sylmar cares for and trains the exceptional puppies who will become companion animals to the visually impaired, at no charge to the recipient of the dog.

Volunteers raise the puppies-Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and German shepherds-for about 18 months,

and then the young dogs are returned to the school for six months of formal guide dog training by licensed trainers.

After training, the dogs are carefully matched with visually impaired individuals. Each new team will spend 28 days at the Guide Dogs of America campus, learning to live and work with one another.

The golf classic is a fundraiser to enable the foundation to continue its work in training dogs who "bring light into a world of darkness," according to Scott-Kendall and Teter. Clad in their yellow jackets, the future service dogs will be on hand during the tournament for golfers to meet.

The format is a modified scramble. Various on-course contests will include the $10,000

Helen Harris Memorial Putting Shoot Out. The event will also include a raffle, silent auction and awards banquet.

Registration is at 8:30 a.m., with the shotgun start at 10:30 a.m. The banquet begins at 5:30 p.m.