Candid Video Captures Mailman’s Daily Greeting With Neighborhood German Shepherd, and It’s Adorable

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A viral video from New Zealand is fast debunking the claim that dogs and mailmen don’t mix.

Michael Collins took to Facebook to share his 9-month-old German shepherd’s unique story with his friends and family, but before long, the story went global. The young pup, named Kyza, had long been written off as “dangerous,” Collins explained, until an unlikely figure gave him the benefit of the doubt.

“Just want to share something cool,” Collins began. “Every day, whether or not we have mail, this mailman always stops to see my dog who is only 9 months old. He always gets overlooked as a dangerous or unapproachable dog, maybe because he’s big, I’m not sure.”

Collins went on to say that Kyza never barked or growled, except for barking “the odd couple times (but which dog doesn’t?)” But the mailman, Collins clarified, “always makes an effort to get off his bike to give him a hug and a pat!”

Despite admitting that he didn’t know who to tag in his post, Collins’s video soon gained over 15,000 shares on the social media site and over a million views on YouTube.

Collins’s video shows his mailman approaching the yard on his bicycle. The German shepherd, Kyza, is relaxing in the sun until he realizes who’s approaching.

Kyza’s excitement is immediately apparent; Kyza’s tail wags emphatically, and the mailman pulls his bike up to Collins’s fence and dismounts.

The dog stands on hind legs with his front paws on the fence, soaking up the attention. As the mailman delivers a few tender pats, Kyza returns the affection with licks to the man’s face.

Then it’s back to work for the mailman, but not before one last friendly rubdown. This is one daily tradition between a dog and a mailman that truly breaks the mold; Collins knew it, too. “Thanks man, keep up the good job,” he added on Facebook. “You’ve definitely got a friend waiting for ya!”

Collins’s viewers described the video as “cute” and “awesome,” with one even sharing, “Makes me want to come pat him.” It seems Collins’s video could be doing a huge service for the reputation of big dogs and the stigma they sometimes carry.

Cats, on the other hand, may still have a ways to go.

In another video featured on social media, this time filmed from a mailman’s perspective, a cat stands poised behind a door mail slot, ready to repel the mailman’s offering. “Kitty cat ready to do battle,” the mailman, who decided to film the standoff, declares.

As soon as the mailman attempts to open the slot, the cat strikes through the slot, preventing any delivery from being successful, and nearly catching the man’s glove in its claws in the process.