‘My daddy died today.’: Woman and her pitbull share touching act of kindness for grieving girl

“Today while on our daily run a little girl was outside the funeral home and yelled, ‘May I pet your puppy?’

I smiled and said, ‘Of course! As long as your parents don’t mind!!’

Next, the little girl gave a shy little smile and said, ‘Oh my parents aren’t out here. My mom is inside and my daddy died… we are at his funeral.’

Before I could say a word, my puppy Blue walked up to this little girl and ever-so-gently sat down in front of her.

The girl wrapped her arms around Blue’s neck and wouldn’t let go.

Courtesy of Emily Beineman
girl in blue dress hugs drooling pitbull
Courtesy of Emily Beineman
girl in blue dress smiles with pitbull
Courtesy of Emily Beineman

This little girl’s friends and family were all surrounding us and as I looked around there wasn’t a dry eye to be found (except this little girl).

I quickly dried my eyes (I was very thankful for tinted sunglasses) and sat and talked to this little girl for a few minutes.

She then jumps up and says, ‘I want you to meet my Daddy!!! Can you please come meet him??’

I said, ‘If you want me to meet your daddy, I’d absolutely love to as long as it’s okay that I look like this!’

(Keep in mind I had just got gone running for 3 miles — LOL.)

Soon, I walked into the funeral home with this sweet girl and I met her daddy, her mom, and her grandparents.

She showed me the beautiful bouquet of flowers that surrounded his casket and told me how pretty she thought everything looked.

She then asked if me and Blue would stay for a few more minutes because she wanted to pet Blue a little more. So, we did.

This little girl’s aunt and uncle looked at me with tears running down their face.

Her aunt whispered, ‘I think God led you and Blue over here today for a reason… Blue’s love and gentleness that she has showed her has touched our hearts.’

I’ve always referred to Blue as my ‘gentle giant’ because I’ve always felt that she could sense when someone is sad or upset and has this overwhelming calmness about her that is indescribable.

Today, I am thankful for many things.

But I’m especially thankful for God allowing us to meet this special little girl on one of the hardest days of her life.

This little girl will probably never realize how special today was for me, but it was exactly what I needed.

I’m a strong believer that everything happens for a reason.

And I truly believe we were meant to meet this little girl.

She is the perfect reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness through every storm.â€

stranger in sunglasses and girl in blue dress hug pitbull outside funeral home
Courtesy of Emily Beineman

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Emily Beineman.

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