Chonky Boy Mastiff Waits Daily By Fence For BFF Postal Worker He Towers Over
One of the old cliches about dogs is that they like to chase and bite mail delivery workers. Though many dogs are in fact territorial, the modern delivery worker tends to take this into account, bringing their route dogs treats, forging relationships with the animals they see on a weekly basis, and sometimes even posting about it on social media. I follow many a UPS driver who shares sweet clips of them interacting with the pets along their route.
For Fronky the Mastiff, the highlight of every day is sitting by the fence and waiting for mail carrier Shaun, who always brings him a treat and some pets—even though she’s clearly bigger than he is.
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In this sweet clip, we see Fronky waiting patiently by the fence, tail wagging, as Shaun walks up with the day’s correspondence. As she gets closer, he puts his front paws on top of the fence and stands on his hind legs, revealing that, yes, she’s actually smaller than the diminutive postal worker.
Related: Mastiff Literally Jumps for Joy When His Human Sister Comes Home From College
Postal Workers and the Dogs Who Love Them
Fronky and Shaun clearly have a special relationship, and she comes prepared every day with treats for the pups on her route and a snuggle to show him he’s loved. It’s a sweet interaction, and one that the dog and worker clearly look forward to, but sadly, nothing gold can stay.
Unfortunately, the postal service worker recently announced that she’ll be taking a new route. “Sad news from Shaun,” writes Fronky’s dad. He’s hoping that she doesn’t like her new route and comes back to the one that includes her daily interactions with Fronky, which have so delighted all his fans on social media. “She also will come by and visit him on her days off,” he adds, but it’s clearly cold comfort.
Is a Mastiff Right For You?
Mastiffs, sometimes called English Mastiffs to differentiate them from other types as well as from the “mastiff” as a generic term for an entire type of dog, is an ancient breed notable for its enormous size. The most common appearance of these dogs is fawn colored with a black face, like Fronky, but they can come in a variety of colors, including my personal favorite, brindle markings. They were historically used as guard dogs, war dogs, and fighting dogs, but they actually have a very gentle disposition in nature, and are easily trained, a fact that’s extremely important given their enormous size.
Also due to their bulk, they can be les active than many other types of working dogs (we’re looking at you, Aussie Shepherd), happy to go for a nice big stroll and then snooze on the couch for the rest of the day.
Health-wise, they are prone to the illnesses of many large dogs, such as bone and joint disorders, and can also suffer from heart disease. Care must be taken when the Mastiffs are puppies to ensure they don’t develop hip dysplasia by coming up and down stairs or walking too much while their bones are still growing.
They are loyal and affectionate with their families, but can be intimidating among people they don’t know, which is why it was so important for Fronky to develop a relationship with anyone —even delivery workers—who regularly come to his territory.
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