A unique love affair reached a major landmark.
Saturday at the Hoffman Estates home of Dwayne and Lisa Laskey, their 3-year-old long-haired Chihuahua, Frannie Joy, ran outside to greet mail carrier Dan Larsen for the 500th time.
Wearing what Lisa Laskey called Frannie’s “race wear,” on this day a black-and-white checkered shirt atop a pink “skirt,” the little dog was heard whimpering and barking just inside the door awaiting her daily ritual.
At 10:27 a.m. Larsen’s postal van pulled up in front of the house. The door opened and Frannie — whose #Frannielife tag has more than 750,000 followers on several social media platforms — burst out and sprinted down the driveway to greet her friend.
Larsen picked her up to the applause of three dozen onlookers, before his daily ration of doggy kisses. The moment initially brought more than 1,500 views on Instagram, more than half the number for a prayer for Frannie earlier that morning by Laskey family friend, Pastor Steve Carter of Forest City Church of Elgin.
In his experience nearly 40 years into the job, Larsen said this dog-mail carrier relationship is not normal.
“There’s dogs on my route that I get along with, but she runs out every day to my vehicle and I pick her up, let her kiss me,” said Larsen, of Bartlett, who has two dogs of his own.
“No, this is the only dog in 39 and a half years that has done it like this.”
Lisa Laskey of Hoffman Estates gets some loving kisses from her 3-year-old Chihuahua, Frannie Joy.
Dave Oberhelman; [email protected]
It’s been well documented. Lisa Laskey has posted short daily videos since the duo met on Oct. 8, 2021. Frannie Nation laps them up, with one post netting more than 16 million views.
“I never dreamed that I could bring joy to people this way, until Frannie just showed us,” said Laskey, who has published three children’s books about the relationship, with another coming for Christmas. A portion of the proceeds go to Schaumburg’s Almost Home Foundation.
“When I saw how she could impact people who say that they’re shut-ins and they’re not well and they’re stuck at home, it really just marked me, big time,” said Laskey, now friends also with Larsen’s wife, Janet.
The 500th running drew Hoffman Estates fire and police personnel, members of the chamber of commerce, Almost Home personnel and Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod, who proclaimed Saturday “FranDan Day” and presented Larsen and Frannie with keys to the village.
“You always hear about the young child who loves the garbage man or something,” McLeod said, “but this is unique.”