UPS Driver Adopts Orphaned Dog On Her Route After Owner Dies, And It's Enough To Melt Your Heart

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UPS Driver Adopts Orphaned Dog On Her Route After Owner Dies, And It's Enough To Melt Your Heart

Many may not know, but most UPS drivers are huge dog lovers. There's even a Facebook Page called UPS Dogs where drivers post pictures and stories about the dogs they come across on their routes.

It was on this Facebook page that we first heard about Katie and Leo.

Leo, is a pit bull that used to live with a woman named Tina. Her son, Cannon brought the pup home with him one day and it was clear that the pup was too young to be away from his mother. Tina bottle-fed him until he was able to eat regular food. This formed an unbreakable bond between Leo and Tina.

Tina was not the only one that Leo bonded with. Katie the UPS driver from Rancho Cucamonga, California came across the pup on her route.

"He would hear my truck come into the condo complex and start barking and scratching at the door to come down to the truck. He would love to come into the truck and go into the back to look around," Katie said.

Not everyone felt comfortable around the dog though. People in the condo complex were nervous to be around the dog, because they believed the sigma surrounding the pit bull dog, and Tina was forced to muzzle him when he was outside.

"I remember one day I was driving up one of my busier streets and they were coming down the street and all of a sudden there was Leo popping his head out the passenger side barking at me! He barked all the way down the street!" Katie said.

Everything changed last October when Katie returned from vacation to discover that her friend had passed away.

"I pulled into the complex and saw Cannon pulling out with the back of Tina's truck loaded with furniture. I thought that she had found somewhere else to live. I waved and he waved and I didn't think anything of it. I tried to call her later that day and her phone went right to voicemail. I tried the next day and the same thing. I looked on her FB page and there were condolences and comments about her passing away. I was in shock," Katie said.

Continue to the next page to see how Katie welcomed her friend into her home, and pictures of how he's settling in.

That's when Katie made a call to Cannon and offered to foster Leo since she knew that as a Marine he wouldn't be able to keep the dog. Katie already had 3 dogs and didn't intend to keep the furry friend long-term, but as expected the pit bull won over her heart.

"The whole vibe in the house changed as soon as we brought him home. He is the biggest, most lovable dog that you will ever meet. He was instantly running around the yard with my dogs," she said.

Some adjustments had to be made in the home, the first being Leo's diet. Tina was generous with sharing her meals with the dog, but Katie does not. It took Leo a week to stop begging for food, but Katie admits that she now mixes in boiled chicken into the dogs' food. It's no wonder that the other pups love their new friend!

"He has some health issues," Newhouser tells PEOPLE. "He has had constant ear infections since he has been here, and he has also developed a really bad rash. We recently found a really good vet and she is trying new treatments on his ears and seems to think he has a food allergy, so we have switched all their food over to limited ingredients to see if that helps."

However, the biggest challenge for Leo was emotionally focused. He now needs to learn to live without Tina.

"I do know that Leo missed Tina when he first got here. He would whine at night before he would fall asleep. It was heartbreaking, really. He still does every once in a while. I know he misses her," Katie said.

While Leo may have joined the pup pack under sad circumstances, he is enjoying playing tug-of-war with sibling Moose and loves playing pranks on pup sister, Bailey.

"He has so much personality, you would think that he is human!" says Katie "He is the sweetest, most lovable dog that you will ever meet. "

Source: Pup Journal / People