Hoo-ha over tiny chihuahua who’s scared off posties

ROYAL Mail refused to deliver letters to a home because the postman is scared of the family dog – a chihuahua.

Mother-of-three Sarah Martin branded the decision “ridiculous” after her deliveries were suspended for more than a week.

Mail bosses accepted the postman’s complaint that her miniature pet Tiny’s loud yapping was threatening and only resumed the service after she fitted a special post box by her garden gate.

Single mother Sarah, 30, of Daventry, Northants, said: “It is ridiculous. She is called Tiny for a reason. She is a real softie. She just barks at the postman to warn him off. She has never bitten anyone.

“She is great with my three young children. I told the postman, ‘What are you scared for? She’s like an overgrown rat’.”

The dispute began after Tiny, who has always barked at the postman but was never allowed to run free in the garden, managed to slip through the front door.

Sarah had fitted a guard rail to confine her but her children Jacob, eight, and seven-year-old twins Willow and Summer accidentally let her escape. “Tiny’s always hated the postman,” she said. “It was a few weeks ago she got out and was barking at him. He was shouting at the kids, ‘Get your dog inside’ and the kids were crying.”

Royal Mail said post to Sarah’s home had now been reinstated and apologised for any inconvenience caused.