We wouldn’t be surprised if all of the dogs on this mailman’s route looked forward to his arrival, as they are known to bark and chase after postal workers. Twitter user @amorningsting took to Twitter to share his heartfelt, yet sad experience that her father Fernando, a mailman, has recently gone through.

Fernando’s daughter recalls that her father would carry a bag of milk bones with him on his route so he could give them out to the dogs. You may see how caring Fernando is just by looking at his simple act of carrying a bag of milk bones!

Image/Story Source Credit: @DeCuervo2/Twitter

His daughter posted a screenshot of the text her dad had sent her, which has since gotten more than 161k retweets and 777k likes. It read: “Aww just found out one of my buddies passed away yesterday… Gretchen was a huge German shepherd but she was a teddy bear.”

Image/Story Source Credit: @DeCuervo2/Twitter

Fernando attached a photo of a note that Gretchen’s family had given him when he’d stopped by their home on his route, as well as a bag of milk bones. The note stated, “Gretchen passed away yesterday. She asked me to ask you if you would share her treats with the other dogs on your route because she never got to finish them. She was always delighted to receive a snack from you when you came over the door.” Thank you, The Cimino Family).

Image/Story Source Credit: @DeCuervo2/Twitter

To make the story even better, Gretchen’s owner saw @amorningsting’s tweet and replied: “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.”

He and his wife adopted Gretchen from a shelter when she was two years old. He hopes that this story of Gretchen will get people to see that adopting older shelter dog can result in a “once in a lifetime friendship.”

Watch the video below of their wonderful relationship! Please be sure to SHARE this story with a friend or family member.