Pets and Mail

Putting a mailbox through a wall

The old saying is that a dog is man’s best friend. While this may be true most of the time, there is one exception to the rule: postmen. For some reason, known only perhaps to our furry four-legged friends, some dogs seem to have a deep disliking of the local postie (or indeed anyone in uniform), and some cats do too! It’s a common scene: the postman delivers the mail through the letterbox in the door and the dog snatches it out of his hand quite fiercely. Or the alternative scenario is that the postman is unable to deliver the mail at all, as Fido is in the garden growling at postie who, understandably, is too frightened to come into the garden.

There are several things that an owner can do to help the postman in his quest to deliver the mail. One of the first things to do is to put up a sign alerting visitors that you are a dog owner, such as a ‘Beware of the dog’ sign. Quite often these signs will also display an image of the breed of dog; these types of signs give visitors a good indication of just how wary they should be when entering your property. Of course, never assume that just because it is a tiny Chihuahua that it is less likely to nip than an Irish Wolfhound; in fact the opposite is more likely to be true!

Secondly, good general training is incredibly important, especially if your pet has free reign of the garden. A dog that is well trained and is used to being around people is less likely to nip any new person that comes onto the property, the postman included.

Beyond these common sense tips, another option is to have a rear retrieval mail box fitted. These mailboxes can be fitted pretty much anywhere, either to a fence, gate, wall or as a standalone unit. The most basic type of rear retrieval system is a cage attached to the back of the front door, so that when the postman delivers the mail it drops into the cage and pets cannot grab the letters or nip at the postman’s fingers.

This, essentially, is the basic role of a rear retrieval mailbox. For those who have dogs that are given free reign of the garden, it might be a good idea to fit a rear retrieval letterbox on the boundary between your property and the road. Lettasafe has a wide selection of high quality cast aluminium mailboxes, including several stylish rear retrieval options. All are designed to be durable and withstand extreme weather conditions. Fitting a rear retrieval mailbox to your property can give you the peace of mind that the local postman will be able to deliver your mail safely every day - without the fear of Fido nipping at his fingers!