Staff writer
He didn’t need to see it. Tiger, a black and white Shih Tzu dog, could hear the Marion trash truck rumbling down Elm Street on Monday. He walked to the front door and patiently stood there, waiting.
Ed and Luke Siebert live at 608 Hudson St., and they got Tiger five-and-a-half years ago.
“Luke named him Tiger after Tiger Woods — that was back before Tiger’s downfall,” Ed said. “He doesn’t like to come out on the porch anymore for some reason, but he comes out for the trash guys.
“He’ll hear them, and I don’t care where he’s at, in the back of the house, boom, here he comes, get out of the way,” Siebert said.
Seibert wasn’t sure when Tiger started listening for the truck, but he did know how the ritual began.
“He barked at them, and pretty soon one of the guys started giving him a treat, and boy, it didn’t take much of that,” Siebert said.
As the truck pulled up, Siebert opened the door, and Tiger walked out.
Almost as quickly, refuse truck operator Rick Burcky stepped over a low fence and walked over to the porch. He gave Tiger a friendly pat and greeting, and pulled a dog treat out of his pocket. Tiger eagerly snapped up the treat, turned, and went back inside to eat it.
Tiger might believe he’s special, but he’s not the only dog that gets a treat from Burcky.
“I just carry dog treats in the truck for the dogs on the route,” Burcky said. “All the dogs know me.”
Burcky has made a lot of canine friends over the years.
“I’ve been doing trash about 12 years now, between here and Florence, and I’ve done it the whole time,” Burcky said. “It keeps the dogs happy, and it’s good PR for the city.”
Burcky climbed back on the truck and headed to the next stop. Siebert said Tiger would be listening for the truck again Thursday.