Territorial chihuahua halts postal deliveries to Daventry mum's home

Sarah Martin was upstairs in her home when her three children let their dog Tiny out of the front door, leading it to confront the mailman.

Aware that Tiny had in the past eaten the post and behaved aggressively towards the delivery man, Mrs Martin had been putting up a fence to stop the chihuahua from going outside in future.

But this time, with the children at home for the Easter holidays, she was unable to prevent them from letting the dog out.

“She’s always hated the postman, I’ve had her for about four years and he knows that she barks at him when he comes,” said Mrs Martin.

“The dog does eat the post. She was let out because the kids are here.

“She didn’t chase after him but she warned him off.”

She added: “I’ve been putting up a fence for the past two weeks so she can’t get out the house.

“In the morning the kids let her out for about a minute and the postman turned up.”

Royal Mail have sinced confirmed that post to the address will be reinstated and they apologised for any inconvenience caused

However Mrs Martin has complained that the postman is not dropping off parcels, opting instead to leave the red delivery slips in her newly installed postbox.

Morag Turnbull, a spokesperson for Royal Mail, said: “We know that the overwhelming majority of dogs are friendly most of the time, however, even the most placid animal will defend itself if it feels its territory is being threatened.

“Our first priority as an employer is to ensure the welfare and safety of our people who provide a valuable service to our customers.

“Dog attacks or the threat of attack are a serious issue, with seven postmen and women on average being attacked every day across the UK, and when it is unsafe for our postmen and women to deliver we will, and do, suspend deliveries.”