One UPS driver is showing that the mailman vs. dog can transcend TV tropes.
Tre Welch (@juicecupboxx) is known on TikTok for posting content related to his job as a UPS driver. He often finds himself in showdowns with dogs while delivering packages. One encounter with a German Shepard, in particular, has drawn in 383,000 views.
“I didn’t deliver that to you,” Welch says in the clip, flipping the camera around to reveal a German Shepherd with an Amazon Prime package in its mouth. “Give me that package back.”
The pup turns its back toward Welch and takes off with the package. Welch tries calling the dog. “Here. Come here,” he says before pleading with the dog that his job is at risk. “They’re going to say I didn’t deliver.”
“Drop it. Drop it,” Welch tries to calmly say.
The dog then scurries over to Welch’s co-worker, who has his hand out, also hoping to retrieve the package. Welch’s co-worker is more successful, and the dog releases the package into his hands.
Welch proceeds to make the delivery, and the dog runs up on him. Welch’s solution is to place the package between the door and the screen door so that the porch pirate can’t strike again.
The video concludes with the co-worker throwing a stick, and the dog running after it. “We ain’t got time for this. come on,” Welch says to his colleague, who bursts out into laughter.
“I know you didnt get online and order this so keep ya paws and mouf offfff,” Welch joked in the caption of the clip.
@juicecupboxx I know you didnt get online and order this so keep ya paws and mouf offfff😅 #juicecupbox ♬ original sound – Tre Welch
The Daily Dot reached out to Welch via Instagram direct message and to UPS via media contact form.
One viewer joked that “dogs can tell” dog people apart from non-dog people. “He said this dude doesn’t like dogs so lemme go to the one who does,” @aubreyackerman1 said of the dog’s reasoning for choosing who to release the package to.
“He’s applying for a job as your assistant,” another quipped.
Another Amazon worker claimed that this once happened to them and that Amazon claimed they failed to make the delivery.
While this interaction was harmless, there can be serious outcomes when a delivery driver encounters a dog. According to personal injury law firm Slater and Zurz, “on a typical 500-household route, a delivery person may encounter 300 dogs, most of them aggressive.” The U.S. Postal Service reported in 2020 that there was an uptick in dog attack on postal workers, totaling 6,755 that year.
Slater and Zurz credited a rise in online shopping to this uptick in dog attacks.