Matteo Garbelotto, who participated in the February Winter Olympics as a torchbearer, and his rescued service dog S’Abba can occasionally be seen in Guanajuato.
Matteo is a professor of forestry at the University of California, Berkeley. Having grown up in an Italian alpine village, he has always been passionate about skiing. In 2018 he had an accident and suffered a severe spinal injury while skiing in Mammouth, California. For a while he was wheelchair bound.
As Matteo was struggling to recover, he took in a homeless puppy, whom he named S’Abba, and began training her to be a service dog. With S’Abba’s help and encouragement, he regained his mobility. It’s hard to say whether Matteo rescued S’Abba, or S’Abba rescued him. S’Abba is a Nova Scotia Duck Tulling Retriever mix and was born in the beautiful island of Sardenia, Italy.
In February of this year the 2026 Winter Olympics took place in Italy. Still keenly interested in skiing, Matteo applied to be a torchbearer for the snow events to be held around Cortina dÁmpezzo. He described his skiing accident and recovery to the Olympic organizers, who selected him—and S’Abba—for this honor. He and S’abba proudly carried the torch representing the U.S. through the town of Campitello di Fassa near his native village, San Martino di Castrozza.
What is Matteo’s and S’Abba’s connection to Guanajuato and Amigos? The answer is Victor M. Márquez, a San Franciso attorney and Matteo’s husband, who grew up here. Being world travelers, Matteo and Victor live in Guanajuato part-time, and they have contributed to the community by supporting our work.
Matteo and Victor love animals. S’Abba has been an inspiration to both and travels with them wherever they go.