POST FALLS — In the Valente household, The Press may as well be called the Doberman Daily.

Bu (pronounced 'Byu'), a 4-year-old brown and rust Doberman pinscher, looks forward to fetching the newspaper for his owners every morning.

"I’m proud of it,” said Trace Valente, Bu's owner and favorite boy. "I think it's awesome. It’s a ‘from the movies’ type of thing.”

As soon as the paper arrives, the 90-pound pooch can't wait to burst out the door, thunder down the driveway and grab his plastic-encased prize. He races back to the front porch, throwing in a little game of keep-away if he feels so inclined, like he did on Friday morning.

"He’ll get it all day long," said Trace's dad, Mike Valente.

Trace's mom, Erin Valente, used to be the one to grab the paper in the mornings. Then Bu decided to take over the task.

“He’d just follow her out there and one day she was fighting against him to grab it,” Trace said with a laugh. “Every day we’ve just told him, ‘Go get the paper!’ He wakes up way before me, so he’ll squirm out of bed and book it downstairs.”

The only time Bu needs help is when the newspaper is buried in snow. Without a physical paper on Mondays, the family will save an old paper, wrap it for Bu and throw it to the end of the driveway so he doesn't miss out on his daily routine.

“He has to run, gets the paper and he wants to bring it to his owner. He doesn’t bring it to me,” Mike said. "He’ll run upstairs to his room and then Erin has to go get it because he won’t bring it to me.”

Recently, when no newspaper was found in the driveway, the Valentes called The Press to ask for another one. They thought their house had been skipped that day.

“A little while later guess what comes out of his bed?” Mike said. “They did deliver it. Our dog hid it on us."

While infamous for stashing the newspaper in Trace's bed, Bu is locally famous for his dedication to newspaper retrieval. The Valentes live near Post Falls Middle School, where students walk by their house and enjoy seeing Bu in action.

“When the kids are going to school, they’re like, 'Woah, here comes this big dog!’" Erin said. "Then they realize he’s not after them, he’s after the paper. They’re like, ‘Oh that’s so cool!'"

Mike said he loves seeing the kids' faces peering through car windows, grinning as they watch Bu while waiting to be dropped off at school.

"Every kid, they’re always watching him get the paper," Mike said. "That’s what I think’s neat."

"He’ll grab it and look up at them and have a smile on his face,” Trace said.

Bu's full name is Bucephalus. Trace named him after Alexander the Great's legendary horse, a massive equine who never fell in battle. The name is ancient Greek for "ox head." True to the name, Bu did have a large head as a pup.

"They thought I was crazy for wanting to name him that,” Trace said, smiling.

A big head? Maybe.

A big heart? Absolutely.

“They love their people, but they’re very friendly,” Mike said. "They love tennis balls, they love swimming. They’re great family dogs."

Trace said Bu has taught him much in their time together.

"Love and patience," he said.

"They do teach you things," Mike said. "Dogs teach you unconditional love."