had to share this email....

[Phil Jones]

This story is beautiful!

THE POSTAL SERVICE NO ONE HEARS ABOUT

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. She dictated and I wrote:

Dear God,
Will you please take special care of our dog, Abbey? She died yesterday and is in heaven. We miss her very much. We are happy that you let us have her as our dog even though she got sick. I hope that you will play with her. She liked to play with balls and swim before she got sick. I am sending some pictures of her so that when you see her in heaven you will know she is our special dog. But I really do miss her.
Love,
Meredith Claire

We put that in an envelope with two pictures of Abbey, and addressed it to God in Heaven We put our return address on it. Then Meredith stuck some stamps on the front (because, as she said, it may take lots of stamps to get a letter all the way to heaven), and that afternoon I let her drop it into the letter box at the post office. For a few days, she would ask 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. Curious, I went to look at it. It had a gold star card on the front and said "To Meredith" in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith took it in and opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers, "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, one of the pictures of Abbey was taped under the words "For Meredith". We turned to the back cover, and there was the other picture of Abbey, and this handwritten note on pink paper:

"Dear Meredith,
I know that you will be happy to know that Abbey arrived safely and soundly in Heaven! Having the pictures you sent to me was such a big help. I recognized Abbey right away. You know, Meredith, she isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me--just like she stays in your heart--young and running and playing. Abbey loved being your dog, you know. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets, so I can't keep your beautiful letter. I am sending it to you with the pictures so that you will have this book to keep and remember Abbey. One of my angels is taking care of this for me. I hope the little book helps. Thank you for the beautiful letter. Thank your mother for sending it. 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 in heaven, but wherever there is love I am there also.
Love,
God

[Amada Reza]

Dear brother Phil,

Thank you for sharing this sweet story. I just lay to rest my sweet little old lady kitty, Scarlet. She would have been 22 on Thanksgiving. My heart is lifted.

Sending you and yours my love and blessing,

Amy

[Dan Bowman]

Man, great story Phil. It's stories like this that restores our faith in humankind and gives us hope for things like love and caring in our brothers and sisters of this world. This is the kind of news that we need to hear, not the negative propoganda fed to us by the media. This is "great news".

Love ya buddy,
Dan

[jrm13]

wow thats incredible! how wonderful. my daughters dog got run over and killed and she threw herself prone on the floor and wailed. it just about broke my heart! pets are such wonderful creatures but when we die, ow it hurts! i can still remember my dog who was killed. i mourned for months! peace

[Kay Ann Ray]

Dear Phil and other divine friends,

I agree that this is the kind of story to share, to make our lives happier and help bring out our love for one another. The quiet thought which came to me about the dear soul who interceeded for God in the returned album and note, was how much joy and fulfillment he or she received by extending so much love and care to the grieving child and family.

This supports my realization that I need to give my love to all God's children in order to become more joyous and fulfilled in my life.

On the Friday evening News, I often watch, there is a last segment called, Making A Difference, which highlights special actions taken to help others. It is unique and uplifting, and lovely to see that someone is getting-it that we love to have 'good news' reported, not just depressing news.

I love all my brothers and sisters and hope that you are loving yourselves and each other with a heart-full-of-Love from our Heavenly Father. I keep you in my prayers and hope that you are having a happy and love-filled day.

Your friend and sister in God's grace, Kathryn

[RaeUK]

Hi Phil,

Thanks for sharing this story. [Though why I should thank you for making me cry I really don't know :o]

Its nice to read stories relating to the unconditional love and compassion one person has for another, even a stranger.

But, as many a cynical person may cite, the net abounds with such messages aspiring to be real and true.

So a quick search did indeed find many references to this same story and amongst those sites was this one: http://www.snopes.com/glurge/abbey.asp
which deals in debunking 'urban legends'.

It was even nicer to read that they judged the story to be true and qoute the original newspaper sources :)

[for some reason I could'nt copy the text here, so if you want to read further I've provided the link].

[damn! where did I put those tissues???]

:) :) :)

Thanks again Phil.

much love

rae xx

[doug]

What really touched me about this post, Phil, was your timing. Amy didn't spell it out, but her 22 year old cat had died during the night just before you posted this. Your post greeted us in the morning.

Maybe someone was guiding you... :cool:

~

[Phil Jones]

thanks guys...i had no idea if the post was true, but it touched me ,and i just wanted to share it with you. giving Amy comfort when she needed it was a bonus! as for guided...I HOPE SO!!! :)