The teacher often told the children about her dog and so she couldn’t help but tell them about his death. On the same day, she received an incredible letter from one of the students.
Gemma Dunn from Scotland works in a school as a fifth grade teacher. Sometimes she tells her students stories about her dog Charlie, a golden retriever. Recently, Charlie had a health problem when a veterinarian examined him and found that he had an inoperable tumor. Euthanasia was the solution!
When Gemma arrived at work, she realized she didn’t have to hide what had happened from her children, so she told them everything.
“They saw on my look that I was disquiet and I had to explain all to them. They knew Charlie because I talked about him so often and showed lots of pictures and videos,” Gemma says.
Of course, the children were upset about Charlie’s death, too. But one of the students – nine-year-old Callum – decided his teacher needed support. At the end of the school day, Gemma received a letter from him: a poem dedicated to their dog.
“Mrs. Dunn, I’m sorry if this upsets or upsets you. Your dog was very special. He is in a better place now, watching over you,” Callum’s note read.
Gemma decided to read the letter at home – she couldn’t wait to be alone with her feelings that day.
“When I read it alone and then with my family, I ended up in tears,” she says. Gemma’s 20-year-old daughter Lucy was so moved by the boy’s act that she posted a picture of the letter on her microblog on Twitter. The next morning, the post went viral and was retweeted by more than 25,000 people.
“It was weird they all wrote to us just like they knew our dog. People were sympathetic.”
When she arrived at school, she thanked Callum for her support in front of the entire class, calling her an example of the kindness with which people should treat each other.
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