UDS Service Dogs will host its first golf outing on Friday, Aug. 28, at Meadia Heights Golf Club, 402 Golf Road, Lancaster. Program manager Lori Breece hopes it will become an annual event.
"We have been trying to find a signature event that can bring in strong revenue for our program and get the community engaged," Breece remarked.
Landis Communities offered pointers in planning the event. Volunteers met with representatives of golf courses around Lancaster County to see who would want to partner with UDS Service Dogs, and Meadia Heights was the most eager. The Aug. 28 date was scheduled in August 2019. Breece said that when the shutdown occurred, she was afraid that the outing might have to be postponed or canceled, but final planning for the event is going strong.
On Aug. 28, golfers may check in beginning at 8 a.m. Play will begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. and will take a scramble format. Refreshments will be provided. A barbecue buffet is set for 2 p.m. Opportunities to win gift baskets will be available. Additionally, UDS clients and their working service dogs, as well as puppies in training, are slated to attend. Breece hopes that the program's newest dog - a Doberman pinscher - will have arrived by then and can be introduced at the outing.
This will be the first Doberman to go through the UDS Service Dogs program, although Breece has had a pet Doberman for six years. The program's primary breed is the Labrador retriever, but because Dobermans are tall, they are better suited to providing stability when adults move from sitting to standing and vice versa.
Breece had initially hoped to make $50,000 from the golf outing, but revenue expectations have been cut by half. "Any success will be a positive success because it's new for us," she said.
The proceeds will be used to purchase more puppies for the program and cover veterinary costs, which can reach $2,000 per animal. With about 12 new puppies every year, UDS Service Dogs has vet bills for 25 dogs a year. Breece noted that in total, the program invests $25,000 in each dog. Clients are charged just $5,000. "We haven't raised prices in 15 years," Breece said.
Breece is excited about the evolution the program has undergone in recent years. She credited the change to the implementation of a better business plan and processes four years ago.
"We had to commit to bringing in more puppies (to be trained)," Breece said. "Now we're placing six to nine dogs a year. We have eight staff members and 30 puppies in different stages of training. That's a lot of growth."
Only a portion of the dogs that go through the training process provide mobility assistance. The others go to work as facility dogs or become pets. Several UDS Service Dogs interact with children in schools and with clients in a counseling office near Philadelphia. Breece would like to increase the services the dogs provide. Currently, staff members are taking classes to become certified to work with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and train dogs to assist them, and child advocacy centers are on the waiting list for support canines.
"I can't wait to do it because I know it'll help these children who have been through so much," Breece commented. "I know how dogs are already helping in schools. The centers will partner each dog with a child, and the dog will be with them as they move through the court system."
Anyone who would like to support UDS Service Dogs by sponsoring the golf outing may contact Breece at 717-715-8753 or lorib@udservices.org by Saturday, Aug. 1, and golfers may register to play in the outing at http://www.udservices.org/golf through Friday, Aug. 14.
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