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“I Was So Happy.” Grandpa Writes Emotional Thank-You Letter Explaining How Pet-Sitting “Brought Back Meaning” To His Life.

Closeup of a letter that reads "Good afternoon. This letter is regarding your vacation two weeks ago, and how you let me babysit Smokey, Oreo, and Jennifer. I'd just like to give you a letter of thanks. As you know, I'm an old man. You don't see me outside often anymore, as these joints aren't as lively as they used to be. To add to that, two years ago, in the midst of the pandemic, my dad got diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. After his death, I was left alone in my home. I don't have a wife or kids. I could go to sleep one day and never wake up again. Every day is just sitting around and wondering what I have done for this world. Until I met Smokey, Oreo, and Jennifer. Your pets are the cutest, funniest, and most troublesome (In a good way, don't worry, they didn't mess up my house too much!) individuals. They gave me the motivation to restart my life again. I started waking up early in the mornings. I began to take walks outside with your pets for the first time in years. Every 10 minutes, whenever I felt sad for a second, they would bark or rub against my leg and make me laugh. The highlight of their stay was when I took them to the park. It was the longest time I've spend outside in a while. It didn't just bring back pet interaction, I also met other people, started talking, and made friends with a handful of fellow human beings. I was so happy to finally be able to talk with friends again, interact with others, and feel like I'm part of the human race. I realize I sound very existential right now, but I'm telling the truth. It's nice knowing that I'm doing something for someone, even if it's my neighbor. I adopted two dogs soon after. (You may have been hearing noise from my home, pardon them!) I now take regular walks to the park with them and talk with friends I made there. Anyways, I'd just like to say: thank you so much. You brought back meaning to my life. And that's all that matters. Sincerely, Robert (P.S. I think it's time for you to mow the lawn, haha!)"

When Reddit user SnooCupcakes8607’s neighbor agreed to pet sit their three pets, they were hopeful the four of them would get along – what they didn’t expect, however, was for their time together to be life-changing.

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But that’s exactly what happened! In a letter sent soon after the Reddit user got home from their vacation, their elderly neighbor explained why the two weeks he spent with their German shepherd, beagle, and cat meant so much to him. Turns out, he had been feeling lonely for quite some time and had lost all motivation to find ways to improve his life. But after some time taking care of these adorable pets, something amazing happened.

“They gave me the motivation to restart my life again,” the elderly man wrote. “I started waking up early in the mornings. I began to take walks outside with your pets for the first time in years. Every 10 minutes, whenever I felt sad for a second, they would bark or rub against my leg and make me laugh.”

He added, “I adopted two dogs soon after. (You may have been hearing noise from my home, pardon them!) I now take regular walks to the park with them and talk with friends I made there. Anyways, I’d just like to say: Thank you so much. You brought back meaning to my life. And that’s all that matters.”

Don’t forget to share this man’s life-changing story with a friend.

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