PUPILS have met the puppy they have adopted to become a guide dog.

Children at Ysgol Derwenfa in Leeswood have finally become acquainted with 10-month-old Maggie, the trainee guide dog they are sponsoring and have named themselves.

Trainers from Guide Dogs for the Blind introduced Maggie to the youngsters in assembly and headteacher Andrew Jones says they were thrilled to meet her and learn more about her training.

He said: "Maggie has met the children for the first time during this morning's assembly.

"They were all really excited to see her in person, after they had seen the pictures we have been sent over the last few months since she was born.

"I've been updating them about her progress every time we receive the updates from the charity, and finally meeting her was a wonderful experience for them.

"We decided to adopt a guide dog nearly a year ago now, thanks to Leeswood Councillor Ray Hughes.

"When he was chairman of Flintshire Council last year, as part of his fundraising activities he donated money for the school to adopt a guide dog."

Mr Jones added: "When we knew we were adopting a puppy, the guide dog people came into the school to show them what the dogs do.

"Cllr Hughes said it would be really nice for us to have a competition to name the puppy, and out of a number of names Maggie was the one the children liked the most."

Mr Jones added that the pupils cannot wait to monitor Maggie's progress and find out who she is placed with and how she gets on.

He said: "The trainer explained about what they have to do in puppy training school and how they will be allocated to a blind person or family, and how they will help them.

"The children thought it was amazing that a dog can give that lease of life to someone who is blind, and they are very eager to keep in touch with Maggie."