Sliema Lions Club donates guide dog

Michael Scerri’s long wait for a new guide dog finally came to an end this month when he travelled with KM Malta Airlines to Milan’s Linate airport and from there to Limbiate − where the Lions Club have a guide dog school − to meet and undergo final training with Bluey.

The two-year-old male champagne-coloured labrador will now enable him to regain his independence after his previous guide dog, Justy, now 11 years old, has retired.

Scerri was accompanied by Sliema Lions Club treasurer Alexander Arena, who has been working for a number of years to coordinate with Limbiate for the dog to be identified and matched with a local handler.

They had first travelled to Limbiate in 2022 when Scerri underwent tests, but it was only last month that the Sliema Lions Club was informed that a dog had been identified that would be suitable for Scerri. The local club then had to work fast to coordinate the trip because they had just four weeks to ensure that Scerri could travel to undergo the final training and return to Malta with Bluey.

“Michael passed through this assessment process with flying colours,” Arena said on arrival following their KM Malta Airlines return flight from Linate. “The fact that Michael had all this experience also meant that the dog needed to be of a certain high level.”

This trip was no walk in the park. Arena said every morning they underwent a three-hour training session that started at Limbiate and then over the days progressed to trips to Milan, including to the city centre.

“We went to Piazza Duomo, travelled on the underground, on buses and even walked among crowds of people,” Arena said.

“Michael was relaxed at all times, and you had to make an effort to keep up with him and the guide dog because they would be off otherwise.”

Two days before he travelled to Malta, Scerri met the puppy walker who gave him Bluey’s favourite toy and the day before they arrived, Michael and his guide dog trainer officially graduated – for the guide dog trainer, it was his first guide dog.

Scerri thanked the Sliema Lions Club for ‘staying the course’ and donating a guide dog. He also had words of praise for Arena for taking the time to accompany him to Milan during his 10 days of final training.

Scerri now faces the daunting challenge of navigating local roads with often inaccessible pavements which Bluey has been trained to find and walk on.