Area mailman attempts to ease centuries of postal/canine tension by building ramp for an aging dog https://t.co/9q6qUfLj8Q by @mitchellbyars pic.twitter.com/AAxasHawwT
— Matt Sebastian (@mattsebastian) January 6, 2017
The rivalry between mailmen and dogs is almost as old as the rivalry between cats and dogs. (For being such adorable creatures, dogs sure seem to have a lot of rivalries don’t they?) Jeff Kramer, a mailman from Boulder, Colorado, put all the old rivalries aside for a long lasting friendship with a black lab named Tashi.
Kramer told Daily Camera Boulder News about the first time he met Tashi while driving up Bluebell Avenue in Boulder. “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 really friendly dog. And I am a dog person, and they can tell.”
Tashi’s owner Karen Dimetrosky thought their relationship was adorable. “He would just come by every day and pet him,” Dimetrosky said about Kramer. “Tashi would hang outside and would always get so excited when Jeff came. He would always try to pull me towards the mail truck.”
Every day for years Tashi would run up to greet Kramer in his mail truck, until one day Kramer noticed something odd. Dimetrosky was carrying Tashi up and down the stairs to visit with Kramer. At 14-years-old, the 70 lb lab was having a tough time with the stairs and could no longer make the trip on and off the porch.
Kramer was heartbroken to see his four-legged pal in so much discomfort, so he decided to do something wonderful. The mailman turned handyman brought a ramp for Tashi.
Kramer had built the ramp for his own elderly dog, Odie, but no longer needed it after Odie passed away nearly 5 years ago. “I just noticed they needed it,” Kramer said. “I didn’t need it anymore and I hate throwing things away.”
“We’re not very handy. I’m more handy than my husband, but I didn’t know how to put that together,” Dimetrosky said about the new addition to their porch.
Dimetrosky was thrilled to see her beloved Tashi moving around on his own. “It’s amazing, Jeff will come knock on the door and Tashi will get up off his bed and walk out to greet him.”
The average lifespan for a big dog like Tashi is only 10-14 years. The Dimetrosky family doesn’t know how long Tashi has left, but they’re happy he can still spend time with his friends all thanks to Jeff Kramer’s incredible kindness.
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