Dog passes away but has a final request for her friend, the mailman
If you believe the stereotype, dogs and mailmen are the worst of enemies. To fight that stigma, mailman Fernando Barboza brings treats for the dogs along his route. He hopes to put the dogs at ease and maybe even make a friend in the process.
Gretchen was very wary of strangers when Barboza first met her
Gretchen was one of the friends Barboza had made along his route. A German shepherd, Gretchen had been adopted by her family as a rescue when she was only two-years-old. Mistreated by her former owner, Gretchen did not trust many people outside of her current home.
Over time, Barboza was able to gain Gretchen’s trust
So, when Barboza showed up, she was hesitant to trust him – but patiently, Barboza was able to win Gretchen over. He would bring her a treat every day he delivered the mail, and soon, Gretchen would eagerly wait for him at the door.
“When I first met her, I was kind of worried,” Barboza told The Dodo. “She was a little standoffish at first, but then I started to talk to her and pet her and bring her treats.”
Every day, Gretchen was there to greet him
Without fail, when Barboza would show up, Gretchen would be there waiting for him. This continued for years until one day when Barboza showed up to deliver the mail, Gretchen wasn’t there. As he approached the home’s mailbox, he saw that the flag was up. There was a package to take back with him.
Barboza gets some sad news
However, it wasn’t his typical package. Instead, it was a bag of dog treats and a note. As Barboza read the note, his heart broke:
“Gretchen passed away yesterday. She asked me to ask you if you would share her treats that she never got to finish with the other dogs on your route. She always enjoyed seeing you come to the door and was always happy to get a snack from you.”
Barboza promised to fulfill Gretchen’s dying wish
Barboza promised Gretchen’s owners that he would fulfill her final request. Barboza’s daughter posted a photo of the bag of treats and the note on her Twitter where the post got over 844,000 likes and 177,000 retweets. Gretchen’s owners also saw the tweet, replying:
“My wife and I were told about Gretchen’s letter to Fernando being on Twitter. I can’t begin to tell y’all how much it has meant to us seeing how much love and support y’all have shown our girl. She was the absolute best.”
As for Barboza, he gave out Gretchen’s treats along his route, telling the dogs he gave them to that the treat was from Gretchen. It was the least he could do for his buddy.
Hear the bittersweet story about a mailman and his unlikely friend, a dog named Gretchen, in the video below.
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