He used to meet some of the goodest boys and girls on his letter carrier route around Ocean Park in South Surrey.
Now, White Rock resident Dean Swanton has retired from Canada Post, but he's looking for more furry models for his popular Facebook page, Postman Dean's Dog of the Day.
And he's pawsitively looking forward to finding more fur-iendly faces to feature.
Swanton started the Facebook page around 2017, after he started taking photos of some of the dogs he would meet on his daily route and posted them to his own Facebook page.
"Then I'd tell the person on my route, 'You know, I posted a picture of your dog on my page and everybody think it's cute,' and then they'd have to friend request me to see the picture, so I got this idea to do Postman Dean's Dog of the Day," he recalled.
He started just by reaching out to his own Facebook friends.
"Then it just started spreading. Now I've got almost 5,000 followers from all over the world on Facebook."
Canadians are his number one followers, then Americans, and Australians come in third; while he features canines from all over the world, Canada, the U.S. and Australia are the top three.
Swanton, who retired in April after more than 38 years with Canada Post, will also often showcase certain breeds of dogs for a weekly feature in addition to the daily canine picture, and is looking to revive Wheaten Wednesdays, which was always popular.
At one point, he posted a dog of the day, or DOTD, every single day for nearly three years.
"I write a nice bio for each post, so it combines my love of writing with my love of dogs," Swanton said.
"The most rewarding thing about my page for me is that most of my followers are (guardians of) rescue dogs, ... so many of them believe in 'adopt don't shop,'" he said. "They all seem to be genuine dog lovers who truly care."
He also uses the page to draw attention to lesser-known afflictions that can affect dogs, such as canine megaesophagus, when the dog can't digest its food properly and must sit in a special chair to eat, to help raise awareness.
"Every time I get an email message in my inbox, it's usually some wonderful story about some dog who was horribly abused and now living its best life," he noted. "Some of the stories I've told are so sad, but then they always have a happy ending, because dogs really do live in the moment."
One breed does hold a special place in his heart, he added.
"You would think being a mailman, it wouldn't be ... my absolute favourite breed — without question — is a pit bull. I used to have a couple on my route who were just the biggest babies," he said with a chuckle.
"I definitely always had treats in my pocket on my route. ... There were always some in my pocket when out delivering."
To message Swanton through Faceboook, go to Postman Dean's Dog of the Day and message him the name, age and breed of the dog, 3-4 photos (including one closeup), location if you wish, and a cute story about your pup to make the bio writeup special and unique.
He can also be messaged on Instagram @postmandeansdotd, or people can also email him at postmandeansdotd@gmail.com
