This UPS driver adopted a dog on her route after his owner died

In the age of online shopping, it can seem as if you see your UPS driver more than you see some family members. And if you’re on a first-name basis with the person who drops off your packages, it’s inevitable that your dog would get to know them too.

That’s exactly what happened with UPS driver Katie Newhouser and Leo, a pooch on her delivery route—a pooch she recently ended up adopting when his owner passed away.

Newhouser got to know Leo starting about a year ago, when she began delivering packages to his owner, Tina. As Newhouser points out in this touching Facebook post, Leo would often climb up into her truck when she stopped at his condo.

Leo had a tight bond with his owner, Tina, who bottle-fed him as a puppy when he was taken too soon from his mother. Last October, Newhouser received the sad news that Tina had passed away. She immediately contacted Tina’s son to see if she could foster the pup with whom she had forged a friendship while on the job. Already the owner of three dogs, Newhouser didn’t intend to keep Leo for good but, in the end, she couldn’t resist the pup’s charm.

“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,” Newhouser tells Pup Journal.

Here’s are two shots from Newhouser’s Facebook of Leo getting comfy in his new home:

“It was probably confusing for him at first, [but] he has adapted well,” says Newhouser. “He and his brother Moose are inseparable. Bailey, his sister, has taken a while to come around, [but] they actually play now … once Leo was introduced into the house, the whole vibe changed,” Newhouser explains to Pup Journal.

We’re so glad Leo found a new family!