Gretchen the German Shepherd recently died.
However, she got one of her wishes fulfilled before she died.
She was adopted by the Cimino Family in 2013.
It was obvious that she had not experienced love until she was adopted.
Chris Cimino stated that Gretchen did not trust people when she first moved in with the family.
He said that he did not know Gretchen’s back story.
However, he knew that it was not a good one because of the way that Gretchen acted.
Gretchen quickly warmed up to her owners, but she was wary of strangers.
That changed when she met a postman named Fernando Barboza.
Fernando loves dogs. He has worked as a mailman for five years, and he knows the name of every dog on his route.
He said that he always has a bag of treats.
When Fernando goes to a house with a dog, he always gives the dog a treat.
He said that since he is bringing something to the owner, he might as well have something for the dogs because dogs are a part of the family.
Fernando is the first person outside of the Cimino family to win over Gretchen.
He admitted that he was nervous when he first met Gretchen because she was standoffish.
Things changed when Fernando started to talk to Gretchen.
She quickly warmed up to him.
Gretchen would wait for Fernando every day.
She recognized the sound of the mail truck and would run to the door every time that she heard it.
Chris said that Fernando helped Gretchen overcome the fear that she had. She loved his good nature.
Fernando called Gretchen his friend.
Unfortunately, this tradition ended recently.
Fernando recently went to the Cimino home and noticed that the flag was up.
This was an indication that the family had outgoing mail.
There was a bag of dog treats and a note in the mail box.
The note informed Fernando that Gretchen had passed away.
Fernando continues to give out treats to all of the dogs on his route.
He always tells them that the treat is from Gretchen.
He said that he is always happy to see the dogs wagging their tales.
Fernando said that Gretchen did not like people, but she loved other dogs.
Gretchen’s family is sad that she has passed, but they are happy that Fernando is still spreading love and kindness.
