Bored Panda was really keen on finding out how the friendly delivery driver got started with his Instagram account and the whole idea itself, as taking pictures with all of those pups seems like a challenge!
“It actually happened accidentally. You could say I came up with the idea when I randomly decided to pick up a dog to take a photo for fun, and then I just posted it on my Instagram. I didn’t expect to gain any attention from it, but I believe the picture got something like 100 likes, and back then, I thought that was a lot! Also, surprisingly I received a lot of positive comments! Of course, compared to the likes and comments on some of my pictures I get now, it seems like barely anything, but back then, it seemed like a lot and it motivated me to keep going! My motive to keep going became even stronger recently, given the days we are living in right now. I feel like what I’m doing means a lot to me because these photos bring a lot of joy to many people in these dark times.
Now that I think about it, I think I’ve been posting all of those pup pictures on my Instagram for over 3 years. Fun fact! I post a new picture with a new dog every Friday!”
Taking the opportunity, we also asked Hardesty what was his favorite picture out of all the ones he has posted on his Instagram account.
“I don’t think I have a single favorite photo. There are a lot of pictures that I like, but my favorites are definitely the ones where I’m not the only one smiling. In other words, my favorite pictures are the ones where the dog is smiling too. Those, in particular, bring me a lot of joy and remind me why I like doing this job!”
Of course, dogs aren’t the only reason that keeps Jason working as a delivery driver for UPS.
“Besides the dogs, which now turned out to be a big part of my job too, my favorite part of the job is interacting with customers. At this point, I know most of the customers that I deliver the parcels to and they know me as well, so it’s just really fun being out there with them nearly every day!”
As we mentioned previously, the thought of taking so many pictures with dogs could seem challenging, but apparently not for the friendly and pup-loving delivery driver!
“I don’t think there are any challenges when it comes to taking pictures with dogs, but that’s just because most of my photos are taken with puppies, so it’s really hard to get into any kind of trouble with them. It's actually rather easy to take photos with them!”
We also asked about any funny stories that Jason might’ve had under his sleeve, and here’s what we got:
“The one story that comes to mind is that one time where I was trying to hold a small puppy... and, well, one thing led to another, and the little fella got a little bit scared, and unfortunately for me, he peed on me.”
