It is not often people retire and can say they spent their entire adult life working at the same place, but when one of those people comes along, you know they have left an imprint on many.

On Thursday, Jeff Jackson of Wausau put on his USPS uniform, loaded up his truck and set out to deliver the mail to residents in Wausau’s Riverview neighborhood for the last time.

"It's bittersweet leaving, but I’ve been doing this for a long time and I know it's time for me to turn the page on my life and start something else,” Jackson said.

He began his career with the post office back in 1975, unloading trucks and sorting mail. By 1978, he was out on the streets, delivering people envelopes, packages and a little bit of his charm.

"You really develop a lot of relationships over the years,” Jackson said. “That's going be the difficult part about leaving."

“I know about their family and they know about mine,” he said. “I watched a lot of kids grow up over the years and seen them go from their first day of kindergarten to when they graduated from high school.”

As Jackson drove and walked around the Riverview neighborhood Thursday and told people the news that he was retiring, he received several hugs, good-luck wishes and even a kiss from a pooch. Yes, Jackson is a mailman who actually likes dogs.

"The post office doesn't really advise you to be friendly with dogs, but I have a soft spot in my heart for dogs,” Jackson said.

"When the dogs got used to me or would recognize my truck coming down the street, they'd meet me out by the mailbox and expect a biscuit,” he said. "I'd give them a biscuit or two and then when I'd leave and pull up the next mailbox the dogs would follow me down the street so I guess I've called myself the pied piper of Riverview. So I've made a lot of friends with dogs too."

Jackson says his career at the post office has “been a fun ride” and he wouldn’t have traded it for the world, but he is ready for retirement. He says he’s looking forward to fishing, gardening and spending more time with his grandchildren and his own dogs.

This week his co-workers threw him a retirement party. In honor of his admiration for Johnny Depp and love of hot dogs, they gave him a hot dog filled tote with Depp’s picture on it and printed off t-shirts that said “Jeff’s Final Weiner Tour.”