BERKELEY, Calif. (KCBS RADIO) – Cal's football team took a break from the dog days of training camp on Friday, thanks to more than a dozen furry, four-legged teammates who visited them after practice.
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Two weeks and one day before the Golden Bears open the regular season against the UC Davis Aggies, volunteers and puppies with San Rafael-based Guide Dogs for the Blind stopped by Memorial Stadium on Friday.
Players greeted the dogs and asked questions of the people raising them. Katie Woon, the organization's vice president of marketing and communications, said the visit was all about socialization, getting the dogs used to sights, sounds and surfaces they'll encounter as guides.
"First and foremost, they're helping our clients who are blind or visually impaired move through the world more confidently and safely," Woon said.
Cal Head Coach Justin Wilcox said the visit offered a change of pace from the monotony – and difficulty – of the team's preseason training. The Golden Bears held their 14th practice of training camp on Friday, with two more sessions open to the public.
Wilcox called Guide Dogs for the Blind "a great organization," and one with which he shares close personal ties. His uncle was blind, and he remembers two different dogs from the group helping him.
"I remember him being able to do a lot of things that I couldn't imagine that he would be able to do," Wilcox said.
As the Golden Bears trained at Memorial Stadium for their shot at the big time, so did the dogs, who will eventually accompany their owners just about everywhere.
"(They) also serve as a social bridge," Woon said of the dogs. "It's really a way for people to be more included in society, and that can lead to more opportunities, relationships, jobs, academics, you name it."
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