Little boy sends letter to his dog, Moe, in heaven. Moe writes back.

Nothing brings me to tears quite like genuine human kindness. Oh, and emotional dog stories. So when you put the two together, it’s kind of a double whammy. The Westbrook family’s touching story is no exception.

The Virginia family lost their pet beagle, Moe, this past April. Shortly after, Mary Architzel Westbrook penned a heartbreaking but sweet article called ‘Letter from Heaven’ for Distinction Magazine. She talks about love, loss and writing letters to Moe with her three-year-old son Luke. It helped ease the pain of losing a pet, and it became tradition for them to walk to the mailbox together, leaving the letters inside for the postman to deliver to their beloved pup.

“Usually, we address it to ‘Moe Westbrook, Doggie Heaven, Cloud 1,’” she writes.

One particular night, Mary and Luke “mailed” the letter like usual, but Mary forgot to come back and retrieve it from the mailbox after Luke went to sleep. The letter disappeared but she didn’t think much of it, assuming it was tossed in the trash. Then, a few weeks later, they received a reply.

“I’m in doggie heaven. I play all day, I am happy,” the unstamped note read. “Thank you 4 being my friend. I wuv you Luke.”

Mary was floored. She never intended for anyone to actually take the letter—let alone pen a response—but was so pleasantly surprised when they did. What started as a family activity to help ease the pain of losing a pet became a comforting experience for both mom and son. While it’s not known who actually penned the response, Mary has a hunch about who may have been behind it.

“Receiving the note reminded me of the goodness of people and just how big a small gesture can really be,” she writes. “Here’s to Moe, in doggie heaven, and thoughtful postal workers everywhere.”

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