All’s well that ends well. What started out as a negative experience at Vecchia Napoli restaurant at Skyparks, Luqa, for a guide dog user has led to the donation of a Renault Kangoo panel van by The Alfred Mizzi Foundation (TAMF) to the Malta Guide Dogs Foundation (MGDF).
The original uproar when, due to a misunderstanding, the guide dog user was excluded from service at the restaurant, was swiftly resolved following a visit also from a TV reporter the next day. Staff at Vecchia Napoli then donated a week’s tips to the foundation and that was not all.
When a few days later, MGDF chairman Leone Sciberras lost his laptop on public transport, the Alf. Mizzi Group offered to replace it with a brand new one. Following contact from TAMF, there was the offer to donate a van for the MGDF’s specific needs, in particular for guide dogs in training to be collected and take them around to the various locations that they are needed to be taken.
The Renault van, powered by a 1.5 dCi 90 bhp engine, is air-conditioned and fully equipped with special customised trays, two separate compartments and a window to enable driver and front seat passenger to keep an eye on up to five dogs that can be accommodated. The guide dogs will ride in relative luxury as befits them.
Samuel Farrugia, who was present along with trustees of The Alfred Mizzi Foundation, board members of the MGDF and the two GDMIs, Luca Taliana and Rita Criminale, said: “The dogs are going to have a posh ride!”
Mr Sciberras expressed his heartfelt thanks to The Alfred Mizzi Foundation for their generosity. “The new van will ensure that we can deliver training to the guide dogs that are housed with various puppy raisers spread around the island in a more efficient way. Thanks to the capacity of this van and its special finish, we are confident that the dogs will be in excellent condition when they arrive at their destination for every training event.”
The Alfred Mizzi Foundation trustee Julian Sammut said: “We are pleased that good has come out of an unfortunate event. We have all put that behind us and learned from it. We hope the Malta Guide Dogs Foundation will be better placed to continue to upgrade its services to the local community thanks to this van.”
Also present were other TAMF trustees, Jane Mizzi, Albert Petrocochino and Chris Briffa, and MGDF board members Lilibeth Cachia, Charlotte Cilia and Malcolm Naudi.