A fuming dog owner claims the Royal Mail is refusing to deliver his post – because his pet is ‘too loud’.
Neil Leaks, 62, says he has only had three letters in six months since moving into a new flat after his postman complained about ten-year-old Buddy’s barking.
Mr Leaks, from Ipswich, Suffolk, claims he has missed doctors appointments and health documents due to the problem and had to collect his Ipswich Town Season Ticket in person.
He said: ‘The first day I moved in, the postman came and my dog barked and he said “your dog is too loud”.’
Since then, Buddy has saved Mr Leaks’ life, according to the owner, and ‘would never hurt anyone’.
Aware of Buddy’s loud barking, Mr Leaks said he had taken measures to keep his dog away from the postbox.
‘I put up a gate to be safe so Buddy wouldn’t run out into the street and he would be kept inside when the postman came,’ he said, before adding that the postman continued to complain and in the end ‘I just never received my post’.
Mr Leaks claimed that other residents in his building have also gone without, with one having to change their address to a neighbours to get an important delivery.
The dog owner continued: ‘I’ve done everything I can. I have put a gate up, I have kept the door shut, I won’t let Buddy out in the mornings.
‘I have had the area manager from Royal Mail over and she said Buddy was absolutely fine telling me there was no problem.’
Mr Leaks said his beloved pet’s noisiness came in handy when he saved the owner’s life by alerting neighbours when he choked earlier this year.
The asthma sufferer said: ‘I was ill a few months back when I choked on some rice and it went down my wind pipe.
‘Buddy barked and scratched at my neighbour’s door to save me, he knew it was bad. I spent three days in intensive care.
‘He has a heart of gold and he’d never hurt anyone.
‘Even this morning, I had a bad coughing fit and he barked at me until I could stop – he was very worried.
‘I had to kiss and cuddle him to show him I was okay.’
Mr Leaks said a postman had claimed Buddy has attacked him, which he strongly denies.
He added: ‘I had the five foot gate put up in front of the door to show the postmen that Buddy can’t get out and he can’t hurt them. It covers the letterbox so they don’t have to be worried about being bitten either.
‘I’m asthmatic so I used to have my front door open to keep the air circulating and Buddy would wander around a bit then. But now I have to have my door shut between 9am and 1pm – and the post still doesn’t come.’
Mr Leaks said he has to pick up his post from the sorting office and it is often two months late including birthday cards and letters from friends.
But the Ipswich Royal Mail said they have been delivering Mr Leaks’ post regularly ‘when the dog is held back from the door’.
They confirmed the customer operations manager for the area has also visited the property three times and was aware of the gate.
They did highlight the postman has to open the gate to access the letterbox and said the post delivery issue only affected Mr Leaks.
A spokesperson for Royal Mail said: ‘We are working with this customer to resolve the situation.
‘The wellbeing of our colleagues is our highest priority, and we will take the necessary steps to ensure their safety at work.’