A dog-lover has defended his pet pooch accused of attacking the postie, saying the pup saved his life.
Neil Leaks, from Ipswich, Suffolk, claimed his mail isn’t being delivered because of his dog Buddy.
The 62-year-old said he has had only three letters in six months since moving into his new flat after complaints about Buddy.
Mr Leaks said the 10-year-old cross-breed dog ‘has a heart of gold’ after Buddy was accused of being too loud and attacking the postman.
But Mr Leaks has jumped to defend Buddy, saying the dog saved his life when he choked on rice.
The dog owner, who has asthma, told how he ended up in intensive care: ‘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.’
Now Mr Leaks has said the postman told him Buddy attacked him – which he strongly denies – and said the pooch was ‘too loud.’
He said: ‘The first day I moved in, the postman came and my dog barked and he said ‘your dog is too loud.’
He continued: ‘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.’
Instead of deliveries, Mr Leaks said he has to pick up his post from the sorting office, meaning mail such as birthday cards and letters from friends are often two months late.
He claimed he has missed doctor’s appointments and health documents because of it.
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