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. I told her that I thought we could, so she dictated these words:
Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith.
We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked 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 addressed, "To Meredith" in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, "When a Pet Dies."
Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:
Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away. Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. 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 wherever there is love.
Love, God
QuotaBillsLet sleeping dogs lie. - French Proverb
The dog is the god of frolic. - Henry Ward Beecher
A hard dog to keep on the porch. - Hillary Clinton
Subwoofer: A dog who scuba dives - Daffynitions joe-ks.com
Civilized humanical relationships - Archie Bunker
Zit: Command given to a spotted dog - Daffynitions joe-ks.com
A dog has the soul of a philosopher. - Plato
A hungry dog will eat dirty puddings. - Latin Proverb
To err is human, for forgive, canine. - Unknown
I am I because my little dog knows me. - Gertrude Stein
Dogs that bark at a distance never bite. - Unknown
A dog in desperation will leap over a wall. - Unknown
The more I see of men, the more I like dogs. - Madame de Stael
Compromises are for relationships, not wine. - Robert S Caywood
If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. - Harry S Truman
Throw physic to the dogs; I'll none of it. - William Shakespeare
A good bone does not always come to a good dog. - French Proverb
Treasure your relationships, not your possessions. - Anthony J. D'Angelo
If a man be great, even his dog will ear a proud look. - Japanese Proverb
Anyone who hates children and dogs can't be all bad. - WC Fields
Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen. - Unknown
A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of. - Ogden Nash
Gigantic: The biggest, scariest bug in your dog's fur - Daffynitions joe-ks.com
Colliefornia: The American state that has gone to the dogs - Daffynitions joe-ks.com
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. - Roger Caras
Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called "Ego". - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
The dog who meets with a good master is the happier of the two. - Maurice Maeterlinck
Falling in love and having a relationship are two different things. - Keanu Reeves
I have nothing against dogs. I just hate rugs that go squish-squish. - Phyllis Diller
I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow, than a man swear he loves me. - William Shakespeare
Old age means realizing you will never own all the dogs you wanted to. - Joe Gores
If I could be half the person my dog is, I'd be twice the human I am. - Unknown
If you think you have influence, try ordering some else's dog around. - Amish Saying
Find someone who will change your life, not just your relationship status. - Abdul'Rauf Hashmi
Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you. - Mary Bly
I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. - Rita Rudner
Want to improve your relationships? See love as a verb rather than as a feeling. - Stephen R. Covey
Diplomacy is the art of saying, "Nice doggie" until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue. - Andrew Davis
An almost perfect relationship with his father was the earthly root of all his wisdom. - C S Lewis
Love and respect are the most important aspects of parenting, and of all relationships. - Jodie Foster
Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in. - Mark Twain
We learn the most from imperfect relationships - things like forgiveness and compassion. - Andrea Thompson
Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. - Ann Landers
It's not the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog. - Mark Twain
As a man in a relationship, you have a simple choice: You can be right or you can be happy. - Ralphie May
Why do dogs always race to the door when the doorbell rings? It's hardly ever for them. - Harry Hill
Get a good idea and stay with it. Dog it, and work at it until it's done, and done right. - Walt Disney
A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down. - Robert Benchley
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx
What a pity Hell's gates are not kept by O'Flynn
The surly old dog would let nobody in. - Patrick Ireland
I have a great relationship with the blacks. I've always had a great relationship with the blacks. - Donald Trump
For us in Russia, communism is a dead dog, while, for many people in the West, it is still a living lion. - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
I'm suspicious of people who don't like dogs, but I trust a dog when it doesn't like a person. - Unknown
America is a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knocks over a chair. - Arnold Toynbee
Going without food or water will kill the body, but the lack of relationship will kill the minds and spirit. - David Jeremiah
Pigeons are gentle and smart and have complex social relationships. Their hearing and vision are both excellent. - Ingrid Newkirk
We've begun to long for the pitter-patter of little feet, so we bought a dog. It's cheaper and you get more feet. - Rita Rudner
An actor is never so great as when he reminds you of an animal - falling like a cat, lying like a dog, moving like a fox. - Francois Truffaut
The greatest mistake we humans make in our relationships: we listen half, understand quarter, think zero, and react double. - Unknown
I still play hockey every now and then, and I still golf. But my biggest exercise is walking my big dog in the park every day. - Michael J. Fox
There is a direct relationship between a person's grasp and experience of God's grace and his or her heart for justice. - Unknown
If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because your lap is warmer. - Alfred N Whitehead
It's a funny relationship that makeup artists have. I always feel kind of like a dentist. People look at me and think of pain. - Rick Baker
Dogs laugh, but the laugh with their tails. What puts man in a higher state of evolution is that he has got his laugh on the right end. - Max Eastman
There are all kinds of ways for a relationship to be tested, even broken, some, irrevocably; it's the endings we're unprepared for. - Katherine Owen
I not only knew Houdini, but we had a very lovely relationship. I really though we had something going, and then the son of a gun disappeared. - Betty White
My life is the land, the dogs, the car, the motorcycle, the pond, the canoe, going to pick up mail. It's just a rural retreat that I enjoy. - Burt Shavitz
Dogs display reluctance and wrath
If you try to give them a bath;
They bury bones in hideaways
And half the time they trot sideaways. - Ogden Nash
Forgiveness is the best form of love in any relationship. It takes a strong person to say they're sorry, and an even stronger person to forgive. - Yolanda Hadid