Friday, August 31, 2007

Postal Service No One Hears About

Added on 11/13/07: I checked snopes and this is a true story.
snopes
_____________________________________________________________
This is something I got in an E-Mail. Some have probably seen it already. OK, now get out a tissue. My friend (from back a few years ago) and I would rate a movie by tissues like a really sad movie would be 4 tissues. This post is probably about 2 or 3 tissues. But it is good!

Postal Service no one hears about
> Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The
> day after she died,
> my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and
> talking about how much
> she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a
> letter to God so
> that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize
> her.

> > She dictated and I wrote:
> Dear God,

> > Will you please take special care of our dog, Abbey?
> She died
> yesterday and is in heaven. We miss her very much.
> We are happy
> that you let us have her as our dog even though she
> got sick. I hope
> that you will play with her. She liked to play with
> balls and swim
> before she got sick.
> I am sending some pictures of her so that when you
> see her in heaven
> you will know she is our special dog. But I really
> do miss her.

> > Love, Meredith Claire
> > P.S. Mommy wrote the words after I told them to her.
> We put that in an envelope with two pictures of
> Abbey, and addressed
> it to God in Heaven. We put our return address on
> it. Then Meredith
> stuck some stamps on the front (because, as she
> said, it may take lots
> of stamps to get a letter all the way to heaven) and
> that afternoon
> I let her drop it into the letter box at the post
> office.

> > > For a few days, she would ask if God had gotten the
> letter yet. I told
> her that I thought He had.

> > > Yesterday there was a package wrapped in gold paper
> on our front
> porch. Curious, I went to look at it. It had a gold
> star card on the
> front and said "To Meredith" in an unfamiliar hand.
> Meredith took it
> in and opened it.
> > Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers, "When a Pet Dies".
> Taped to the
> inside front cover was the letter we had written to
> God, in its opened
> envelope (which was marked Return to Sender:
> Insufficient address).

> > On the opposite page, one of the pictures of Abbey
> was taped under the
> words "For Meredith". We turned to the back cover,
> and there was the
> other picture of Abbey, and this handwritten note on
> pink paper:

> > > Dear Meredith,

> > I know that you will be happy to know that Abbey
> arrived safely and
> soundly in Heaven! Having the pictures you sent to
> me was such a
> big help. I recognized Abbey right away. You know,
> Meredith, she
> isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with
> me--just like she stays in
> your heart--young and running and playing. Abbey
> loved being your dog,
> you know.

> > Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't
> have any
> pockets!-- so I can't keep your beautiful letter. I
> am sending it to
> you with the pictures so that you will have this
> book to keep and
> remember Abbey.

> > One of my angels is taking care of this for me. I
> hope the little
> book helps. Thank you for the beautiful letter.
> Thank your mother
> for sending it. What a wonderful mother you have! I
> picked her
> especially for you. I send my blessings every day
> and remember that
> I love you very much.

> > By the way, I am in heaven but wherever there is
> love, I am there
> also.

> > Love, God and the special angel who wrote this after
> God told her
> the words.

> > As a parent and a pet lover, this is one of the
> kindest things that
> I've ever experienced. I have no way to know who
> sent it, but
> there is some very kind soul working in the dead
> letter office.


> > _____________________________________________________
> > We believe it was probably the carrier for this
> family who did this instead of the clerk in the dead
> letter office.


Cheryl here: So was I right, do you think this was 2 or 3 tissues?

6 comments:

Lori said...

Oh Cheryl that is so precious, yes, in our too fast and bitter world there are truly angels among us, I count you as one of mine! Love to you today, Lori i didn't cry cause the the kindness of that person warmed my heart instead!

~Becca~Bluebird Rose said...

A friend had sent this to me recently when our cat Boomer died. I thought it was so sweet and very touching!
:)

Cheryl said...

That was a great way to put it, Lori.

Becky, I hope the new little kitty helps you through the grieving for your precious Boomer. Nothing can ever replace a loved one (loved one being human or a pet) but maybe the new kitty is helping with the pain a little bit. I hope so.

Thank you both for the comments and take care!

regina barnett said...

oh what a lovely thing that somone could do for a dear child. and i'm am so sorry for the lost of your beloved pet abbey. i have lost so many pets that were so dear to me. god bless

Cheryl said...

Thank you, for the comment, Regina.

Actually, this was sent to me in an E-Mail so I don't really know if it's about real people, but it was sweet non-the-less.

Thanks again! Take care.
Cheryl

Joy said...

This is a true story, it was first published in the San Antonio Express News, written by Clary Clack.

We do not believe the carrier was responsible because the letter went into the drop box, not the box at our house. Also, when the PostMaster General began trying to find the person responsible, our carrier was contacted and told the PMG's office that he did not know anything about it.

You can verify this at Snopes.com, and can also access the original story in the SA-EN archives.

Joy