The letter by Charles Camilleri under the heading Abnormal Life Of Guide Dogs For The Blind is totally inaccurate and potentially damaging to what most people recognise as a very good cause, the Malta Guide Dogs Foundation.

I have recently spent some days at an established guide dog school abroad and I can assure readers that the allegations made by Mr Camilleri are totally without any basis in truth. During my visit I walked into an enclosure which contained about 30 Labradors, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds of varying age and at various stages of training, running free. I would hardly have risked doing this if these dogs had been subjected to the cruel practices described. The correspondent does not offer a single practical experience to back his damaging allegations.

Guide dogs and guide dog owners work together in partnership and develop a strong personal bond. Their relationship is not one of master and servant. Anybody who has had any experience of guide dogs at all will know that the skills required in a guide dog could not be achieved without kindness and patience and it is on these qualities that guide dog training depends to develop the natural affinity between dog and man.

The result is to provide a visually impaired person with a degree of independence they could not otherwise achieve and a friend for life.

If the correspondent still has any doubts about how guide dogs are treated he can speak to one of the four guide dog owners in Malta, or the one in Gozo, and satisfy himself as to the truth of the contents of this letter.