by 
For those people who adopt a dog, they can really change your lives. So many people don’t realize the strong bond that can form between us humans and our four-legged friends.
For one mailman he formed a close bond with a dog that didn’t even belong to him.
Gretchen was a shy dog who the mailman saw on his route every day, but with patience and a lot of treats he won her over.
Then one day he was left heartbroken when the dog’s owner left the mailman a note on behalf of his four-legged friend.
Fernando Barboza had formed a special bond with shy German Shepherd dog Gretchen and they both looked forward to seeing each other every day.
Then one day Fernando stopped by the house to find a bag of dog treats with a message that has touched the hearts of the world after it was posted on social media, reports the New York Post .
Fernando saw a goodbye letter from the owner of Gretchen to a man he knew had been important in his sweet dog’s life.
The mailman’s daughter posted a picture of the note on social media with the words: “My dad is a mailman and he likes to give the dogs on his route treats. Today he told us one of the dogs on his route passed away and his owners gave him this bag of treats with this note.”
The dog’s last message to the postman
The letter, which was attached to a bag of bone-shaped treats, read: “Gretchen passed away yesterday. She asked me to ask you if you would share her treats that she never got to finish with the other dogs on your route. She always enjoyed seeing you come to the door and was always happy to get a snack from you.”
Gretchen’s owner Chris Cimino, from Texas, adopted the dog in 2013, when she was skittish and nervous around people, he told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“Her mistrust of just about everyone outside of the family was pretty evident,” Chris said. But thanks to Fernando’s patience and special treats she formed a special bond.
Story touches the hearts of thousands
The note, which was posted on Twitter attracted more than 800,000 likes. So many people were touched by the story.
Now Gretchen’s family hope the story will encourage more people to adopt older dogs.
“You never know when you’re going to find that one-in-a-lifetime friendship,” he said.
“My wife and I were told about Gretchen’s letter to Fernando being on Twitter. I can’t begin to tell y’all how much it has meant to us seeing how much love and support y’all have shown our girl. She was the absolute best. This is a short video of her seeing her mailman.” — DeCuervo (@DeCuervo2) April 4, 2019
Rest in peace, sweet Gretchen! Share this post to encourage others to adopt an older dog and honor the family’s hopes.
