Spexjal is a three-year-old dog mongrel that earned his name when he started climbing steep ladders to please his master.

“He comes on site to work with me,” said Pawlu Vella, 62, a builder from Rabat. “He’s always by my side. The first time he saw me climb up the ladder, he started whining. He was worried because he could not be next to me, so I called out to him and told him to climb the ladder,” Mr Vella said in a barking voice.

He comes with me everywhere, even if I’m invited to a wedding. He waits for me outside

And that is just what Spexjal did. Diligently placing his paws on one rung after the next, he reached the top of the ladder and then jumped next to his master. There was no looking back after that.

These days, the minute Mr Vella puts the ladder against a wall, Spexjal is on the alert, following his master’s every footstep and he immediately follows suit, looking every inch Dog the Builder.

The dog was found as a puppy, abandoned at Ta’ Qali, by Mr Vella’s children.

“I homed him and cared for him, fed him and immediately became attached to him,” he said. Although he has five other dogs, Spexjal is his favourite. “It’s like he feels the need to watch over me all the time,” he said.

The animal clearly lives up to his name, although it has to be pronounced with a Maltese accent as he tends to completely ignore the English version of ‘Special’.

Mr Vella takes Spexjal to building sites with him, even when he is working on house renovations.

What if he goes to houses were the owners are not too happy to accommodate dogs? He answers in a love-me-love-my-dog fashion: “We’re an item: no Spexjal, no me.”

“He comes with me everywhere, even if I’m invited to a wedding. He waits for me outside,” he said. Once, he even smuggled him into church. “An angel, he was. Sat there by my feet; not even a whimper.”

What happens when Spexjal has to go down the ladder though?

“Ah, he’s a bit scared, poor chap. He thinks he’s going to topple over, so I carry him down. It’s not a problem, I’ll do anything for my Spexjal.”

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