A Child and Her Dog - a touching story for animal lovers

Found this on my inbox:

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'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,

God

Touching, isn't it? Sorry for the uneven sized letters, just cut and pasted.