Watch as dog delivers mail in the snow
Oakley used to be scared of new things. But his brother, Finley, taught him how to deliver mail and now it’s his favorite thing!
A golden retriever in Indiana is carrying forward his late brother’s legacy of collecting the family’s mail, even when it is snowing outside.
Oakley, an 8-year-old golden retriever, started collecting the mail in the past year after watching his brother, Finley, a 7-year-old golden retriever, carry it home every day.
“Oakley has always been more scared of things, so a year ago he would have never done this,” Oakley’s owner, Cassidy Bonecutter, told USA TODAY. “He would have just dropped it immediately or refused to even grab it.”
On the other hand, Finley “LOVED getting the mail and carrying it home,” Bonecutter said.
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Oakley loves collecting the mail now
Finley, unfortunately, died of cancer on Nov. 14, and Oakley is now making sure the mail is still collected every day.
“Oakley now loves getting the mail and wags his tail as he waits for us to hand it to him,” Bonecutter said. “We really think Finley was teaching him how to be a brave boy and carry it home.”
Video recorded by Bonecutter shows the dog carrying an envelope in his mouth as he frolics through heavy snow during snowfall in Fort Wayne, about 125 miles north of Indianapolis.
Bonecutter said her pet now “trots right up the sidewalk and back home with it,” adding Finley would look exactly like Oakley did in the video.
“He really had the best teacher, and he has filled Finley’s paws now that he is gone,” Bonecutter said. “It makes us so happy because it’s like a little piece of Finley is still alive in Oakley as he carries it home.”
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
