With the current state of the Royal Mail, and all the postal delays, you may feel that a chimpanzee would do a better job than your current postie, and who knows you could even be right. The truth is that animals have been working courier jobs for centuries, and as we’ve yet to see a Saint Bernard on strike it’s likely that they’ll be working a more reliable service than your average postman for many more:
Carrier pigeons, or homing pigeons, are the best known animals with courier jobs and they’ve been providing this service to the public since World War One. The pigeons were used by all sides to carry messages from point to point and were routinely deployed from the front line to carry status reports back to the headquarters. Their courier jobs even continued out at sea, when carrier pigeons were carried aboard warships and seaplanes as a back up means of communication, should the ship’s radio communications break down. However, one South African IT firm has employed a carrier pigeon to transfer data between their offices, as they believe their bird, Winston, to be faster than broadband.
Whilst carrier pigeons may be reliable and speedy, they aren’t exactly pretty to look at, which is where the Saint Bernard comes in. However, the world’s cuddliest courier may not be all he seems. The Saint Bernard is often pictured with a keg around his neck and it was believed that this keg carried brandy to weary mountaineers. This is actually a myth and the monks of the Saint Bernard’s hospice, where the breed originated, are adamant that alcohol would worsen the condition of hypothermia that the dogs rescued from the treacherous St. Bernard’s Pass. But whilst the lofty Saint Bernard was never a courier, post dogs have been known to exist; the most famous of these was Owney, a former stray, who travelled around the world delivering mail. He made his home on freight trains and steamships, but was sadly forced into early retirement when a nervous breakdown caused him to bite a news reporter.
Camels are often used in courier jobs to transport packages across the desert. This may conjure up images of bejewelled Arabian Camels travelling in a train across the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert. However, camels are still used to deliver parcels and packages in Australia, where they are perfect for adapting to the rougher climes of the Australian Outback. Typically a camel’s load is between 250 to 600lb and they are particularly useful at carrying misshapen items and bedding on their courier jobs.
You may have heard about Postman Pat, but what about Postman Cat? At least that’s the nickname given to this ginger and white moggy, who regularly helps out on Postman Terry Grinter’s morning round. The ginger and white tom, named Beezley, loves nothing better than lying on top of the mail in the postman’s basket as he makes his deliveries around the town of Lyme Regis in Dorset. If there were courier jobs going for cats then Beezley would face stiff competition from Postman Pat’s companion, Jess. However, unlike Jess, Beezley doesn’t belong to Mr Grinter. Instead Postman Cat meets him outside his owner’s house where they begin their round together. There’s just a slight problem, Beezley is averse to the rain and refuses to do his job if the sun isn’t shining. Maybe he’s not that dissimilar to the Royal Mail after all.
Author Resource:
Lyall Cresswell is the Managing Director of Courier Exchange, the world's largest neutral trading hub for the Sameday courier and express freight exchange industry. Over 2,500 transports exchange businesses are networked together through their website, trading courier jobs (http://www.courierexchange.co.uk/recruitment.html ) and capacity in a safe 'wholesale' environment.
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