A binman’s lot is not always a happy one. Out in all weathers – rain, wind, snow, hale and the occasional sunny day.
But there is nothing that puts a smile on a binman’s face more than being greeted by a happy, smiling dog while they are doing their weekly collections.
And every Friday golden retriever Maddie patiently waits high up on the lawn of her front garden for the arrival of her local binmen, tail wagging beneath her Hi-Vis vest.
Videos of one-year-old Maddie being petted by the Belfast City Council workers when they arrive every week to pick up the bins have gone viral on social media.
One video alone has received more than 10 million views on Instagram, with comments left online by people living as far away as South Korea and Brazil.
“It’s not just her tail that wags, it’s her whole bum that goes – she just loves it,” Katelin Fiddis told BBC News NI, Maddie’s owner.
“She is one of those dogs … she loves attention, she loves to say ‘hello’ to people.”
And when Maddie hears the first distant rumbble of a bin lorry and bins being emptied, she runs to the door of the family home in east Belfast eager to get out.
She then positions herself at the edge of raised garden at the front of the house, near to where any bins are left out to be collected.
The height of the garden means the Belfast City Council bin workers do not need to lean down to pet her.
One of them, Marc Doran, said: “We’ve a couple of friendly dogs (on the bin round) but not as friendly as Maddie. She’s one of a kind.”
So much so that when Marc started the round last year, his colleague Nathan Wilson immediately told him about Maddie’s enthusiastic welcome and that spending a bit of time with her had become part of the job.
As he stroked the dog on one of his regular Friday morning rounds, Nathan said: “There’s nothing as special as this. We look forward to this.
“Every dog is different. She’s just brilliant. I would stay here to five o’clock. It wouldn’t bother me.
“I think she loves everyone but I think she likes us a wee bit more.”
Katelin said the videos recorded by her brother Josh started to go viral as soon as footage with the bin workers was posted.
She said: “We probably got about 15 likes, maybe one comment, back in the day. And now there’s videos that are reaching ten million views and she’s got 20,000 followers.
“As soon as a binman appears it’s like ‘wow ten million views’.
“They’re very busy obviously doing their big rounds but the fact that they would dedicate 20-30 seconds to say ‘hello’, you can just tell that it makes Maddie’s day and she’s got a wee smiley face and a waggy tail.
“We’re getting comments from people saying ‘I’ve had a really, really hard week and I’ve just seen this video of Maddie and it’s completely changed my outlook and I feel so much better’.”
But Maddie may not be as good a girl as she portrays her self in the videos.
Added Katelin: “She’s a bit of a rascal!
“When she’s walking on the lead, she does like to pull still.
“She’s not the perfect dog … but you can tell she’s just got a heart … she’s become like a therapy dog for the entire neighbourhood which is just lovely.”
Maddie turns two this in September but, for her, every Friday morning feels like a birthday when she hears the sound of the bin lorry arriving.
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