“Basically, I knock on doors and deliver packages.”
Such is the life of Jason Hardesty, a New Orleans UPS driver in the Bywater/Marigny area.
But Hardesty isn’t just any delivery driver. He loves pups. He loves them so much, there’s even a hashtag dedicated to his amour: #PupsOfJay.
“Most of the time, dogs always come up to the door, and they’re all very friendly,” Hardesty explained. “I’ll play with them, and if there’s a really, really cute one, I’ll pick them up and ask to take a photo of me and the dog.”
Two years ago, he started posting his daily adventures on Instagram, but this week people really started to take notice.
“The story behind that is one of my customers; I would always deliver something and her dog inside would always go crazy,” he said. “I bumped into them walking on the route and her dog was with her, so me and her dog finally got to play around. I was telling her about my Instagram account, and she found it and retweeted it. She’s an author.”
Ever since the retweet, people have been flocking to his page to get their fill of cute pups, as well as colorful neighborhood architecture.
“The hardest part about the houses is having cars parked in front of them,” he said. “So whenever I see a gorgeous house that doesn’t have a car parked in front of it, I try to take it and put a little filter on it.”
So, what about his newfound fame?
“I’m overwhelmed about it, but if people like it, that’s good,” he said. “People walk up to me and say ‘I can’t wait to get on (your Instagram).’ But there is a waiting list. I use that excuse, so I don’t have to take pictures with every dog now.”
