It all started with a Chihuahua in a pocket.
In 2013, UPS driver Sean McCarren snapped a photo of his pet Chihuahua sitting comfortably in the front pocket of his brown uniform.
McCarren, a bona fide dog lover, shared the picture on Facebook and from there, starting sharing photos of all the dogs he meets along his route in rural West Virginia.
He quickly realized he wasn’t the only UPS driver with dogs who love him (and vice versa), so he opened up the page to allow other delivery people to share their pictures and experiences.
As it turns out, a lot of dogs love seeing their UPS driver, whether it’s to say hello, jump in the truck, sniff something new, or more than likely, get a treat.
From there, UPS Dogs was born.
“What’s funny is—ask any delivery driver and they will tell you—dogs just jump up into the vehicle, wanting a biscuit,” McCarren tells PawCulture.
Since its inception, the page has about 30 drivers who contribute to the site and the numbers keep growing. To date, the page also has over 230,000 fans and followers.
McCarren, who admits he goes through a couple of boxes of dog treats a week for his favorite route buddies, says the bond he shares with the dogs and their owners is one of the best parts of his job.
“What the page tries to portray is positive connection with the people and families day to day,” McCarren says. “Dogs are really important to people’s families, they are like their son or daughter, so you try to treat them as such.”
UPS Dogs has not only become the go-to feel good page on Facebook, it’s also changed the lives of some of the contributors. In fact, earlier this year, UPS driver Katie Newhouser adopted a Pit Bull from her route named Leo after his owner had sadly passed away.
McCarren calls of the contributors to the page “a great group of people” and says that “it’s been so cool” to watch their interactions with their route dogs make others so happy.
Images via UPS Dogs Facebook
Aly Semigran is a lifestyle writer for the world, and roommate of Ruby, the cutest dog in the world.
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