While dogs may be man’s best friend, our four-legged buddies have always had issues with postmen whom they have seen, and treated, as trespassing enemies. The exceptions to the rule seem to be mailman Jeff Kramer and Tashi, the black lab.
Their story begins a few years ago when Kramer passed a house on Bluebell Ave. in Boulder, Colorado, and the dog came running up to him “as fast as he could – which was not very fast.”
“…he ran up to me tail wagging, first day I met him,” Kramer said. “He’s just a friendly dog. And I am a dog person, and they can tell.”
Ever since that very first day, the mailman and the dog have shared a unique bond that was then strengthened over their daily encounters as Kramer made stopping and greeting Tashi a part of his route.
Sadly, 14-year-old Tashi started showing signs of his age as earlier this year he became unable to navigate the steps of his porch. His owner, Karen Dimetrosky, said it had gotten so bad that they had to carry the 70-pound dog up and down the stairs.
And so, Kramer took it upon himself to make things a bit easier for his pal and built a ramp that now allows Tashi to get in and out of his house whenever he pleases. The material for the ramp came from the one that he had built for his own dog, Odie, who passed away five years ago. It had been sitting unused in his backyard, until he realized he could put it to good use again, and brought the lumber over to help Tashi.
But, even though Kramer had brought the material over, Dimetrosky said, they couldn’t reassemble it and it sat unused for months because they weren’t “handy” and she and her husband didn’t know how to put it together.
Again, Kramer stepped in, and on his day off, came and set it up for them.
Kramer and Tashi now continue to enjoy their friendship and he even attended the lab’s 14th birthday party. Contrary to popular belief, the USPS postman says, it’s not all dogs that hate postmen and that there are 30 to 40 other dogs on his route who “enthusiastically” greet him.
“Then I’ve got three or four that enthusiastically want to eat me,” he says.
https://youtu.be/4IG7wkBPS8U
Featured image courtesy of KUSA via 9News
