Elderly neighbor sends pet parent moving letter of thanks for letting him watch their pets for a few days

A heartwarming letter written by an elderly man is tugging at the heartstrings of internet users after it was shared to the r/pics community by a Reddit user. Posted online this week by u/SnooCupcakes8607, the letter is said to have been written by a neighbor named Robert who wanted to thank the original poster (OP) for letting him petsit their two dogs, Smokey and Jennifer, and their cat Oreo. "This is the letter my neighbor sent me after I let him babysit my pets while I was on vacation," u/SnooCupcakes8607 captioned a photo of the letter that's garnered a whopping 168,000 upvotes on the platform.

The heartwarming letter 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." Robert went on to explain that without any children or partner to keep him company, he had retreated within himself.

"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," Robert continued in his letter. "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."

The highlight of the time he spent with them, Robert shared, was their walks to the park where he got the opportunity to meet other people and make new friends. "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," he wrote.

"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," Robert continued. "It's nice knowing that I'm doing something for someone, even if it's my neighbor." He then broke the incredible news that since petsitting for OP, he'd adopted two dogs of his own. "I adopted two dogs soon after (you may have been hearing noises from my home, pardon them!). I now take regular walks to the park with them and talk with the friends I made there," he shared.

Robert ended the moving letter with a gracious thank you. "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!)" he wrote. The letter struck a chord with many on Reddit, prompting hundreds of them to comment on the heartwarming incident. "You never know when or where you are helping someone by asking for their help," wrote treesfen. "Another argument for allowing pets at rental properties. Especially for aging or people living alone," commented DamagedFreight.