Member-only story
The Sweetest Fan Letter Ever
A reader tells me about his love for his dog
I recently wrote a story for the New Yorker’s website about my dog Merle, who is no longer with us, and my dog Ruthie, who I got while Merle was still alive, and is currently my only dog. It is called “The Bridge Dog” and it’s about how I got Ruthie in anticipation of Merle’s death, and how that all worked out. As a result of writing this story I got more fan letters than I’ve ever gotten for any story in 25 years as a writer, and a lot of great photos as well. GOD I LOVE DOGS JESUS GOD!
I loved all the letters I got, but this one in particular really moved me. With the author’s permission, I’m sharing it here.
Good Evening,
I don’t often do, in fact have never done, this. But, I stumbled across your article “The Bridge Dog” recently — it was such a heartfelt piece of emotive kindling that I thought I should write to you and say thank you. Thank you for sharing your story. But also, thank you for quantifying a loss that some would consider more trivial.
