A lonely elderly man has left people feeling emotional after he wrote his neighbour a thank you letter for changing his life.
The neighbour shared the letter on Reddit, which described how dog sitting helped the old gentleman find a purpose later in life and make new friends.
He said caring for the three dogs, Smokey, Oreo and Jennifer, forced him to get up early in the morning and go for walks outside "for the first time in years".
The trio made him laugh whenever he felt sad, and he was "so happy to finally be able to talk with friends again".
People were left emotional by the "sweet" note, woth some even "brought to tears".
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The full letter read: "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 spent 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 the 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 spent 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 realise 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 pet dogs soon after. (You may have been hearing noise from my house, pardon them!) I now take regular walks to the park with them and talk with my 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!)"
Many Reddit users felt emotional reading the letter and shared their responses online.
One commented: "We all get busy with our lives and don’t realize the power a small act of kindness can do."
While another agreed: "Aww that’s so sweet, sad and heartwarming at the same time! A kind and gentle old man!"
Lots of people joked about the abrupt ending, with one saying: "All that just to ask you to mow the lawn."
Do you have a dog story to tell? Contact nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
