Sunday, June 4, 2006 | 7:34 a.m.
A cacophony of barking dogs echoes through the neighborhood, announcing letter carrier Gary Hartig's mid-day arrival.
Hartig knows each dog, often stopping to pet them through a fence or calling to them by name through closed doors on homes near Charleston Boulevard and Campbell Drive. In 21 years on the route, Hartig has been bitten just twice, never seriously, and has coaxed many a wayward canine into his truck for a ride back home.
New dogs have taken time to warm up to him, but eventually their warning barks turned into greetings. After all, this neighborhood fixture in postal blues has been known to carry yummy treats along with the mail.
The Las Vegas High School graduate signed on with the post office in June 1979 after leaving the Coast Guard. He departed the service weighing 188 pounds but quickly dropped to 145 pounds carrying a mailbag in the Las Vegas summer heat.
That same bag, and the time he has spent on one of the few remaining walking routes in Las Vegas, have kept the 60-year-old trim during his 27-year career.
Along delivery route 208 on May 26, Hartig greeted each dog for the last time. It was his last day. He is retiring and moving to Pismo Beach, Calif., with his wife Katie and pet Airedale, Sophie.
- R. Marsh Starks
archive
