Jeff and Theresa are a very special local couple who have hearts of gold. The husband-and-wife duo are behind the ‘Adopt A Sicilian Stray’ shelter that saves stray dogs in Sicily and helps give them a second chance in a new, forever home.

They shared their story with Virtu Ferries, the catamaran service between the islands that “go[es] out of their way to make sure that your dogs are as comfortable as you are,” Theresa shares.

Jeff, a retired airline pilot came to Malta in 2004 where he met Theresa, an ex-estate agent who has been saving dogs for the last seven or eight years.

“Since 2014 we have now saved just under 800 dogs. There’s a huge stray dog problem in Sicily and consequently, we started rescuing dogs, bringing them back to health and then finding homes for them in Malta, the UK and some places in Europe as well,” Jeff shares in the video posted by Virtu Ferries.

“The charity continues to save around 100 dogs a year. Obviously because most of the dogs, if not all of them, come from Sicily, we use Virtu Ferries to bring the dogs here,” Jeff shares. “The service on board the ferry is very, very good, the staff are very, very helpful and I think the experience is a very, very good one,” Theresa concludes.