Four Neighbors Asked to Walk the Dog Next Door. Stevie’s Reply Made Everyone Smile
Jack McCrossan and his three housemates had a problem many dog people know too well. They had moved into a place in Bristol, England, where the landlord did not allow pets, and the house felt emptier for it.
Then a dog appeared in the window next door, and everything changed.
McCrossan, who is originally from Scotland, and his friends spotted a black Sheprador, a German shepherd and Labrador mix, at a neighboring home. They decided not to keep admiring her from a distance. Instead, they wrote a letter to her owner, Sarah Tolman, asking whether they might ever be allowed to spend time with the dog, take her on a walk, or arrange a play date.
The exchange that followed, shown in the post below, turned a simple note between neighbors into a story dog lovers everywhere wanted to pass along.
The boys from number 23 made their case
Their message was earnest, a little funny, and very clear about what was at stake. The four men explained that they had all grown up with animals and were finding adult life without a dog harder than expected.
They told Tolman that if she ever needed anyone to walk the dog, they would be happy to do it. If she ever wanted someone to look after the dog, they were available for that too. Their offer kept going in the same sweetly overcommitted spirit. If she felt like bringing the dog over to brighten their day, they said the invitation was open. If she simply happened to walk past their balcony windows with the dog, they would gladly take that, too.
They even acknowledged that the note might be a bit much, but sent it anyway. It was signed simply by "the boys from number 23."
What makes the letter memorable is how little they asked for beyond access to a dog. There was no elaborate plan, no pitch beyond affection. They missed having a dog around, they had found one they already adored from afar, and they were willing to risk sounding ridiculous in order to say so.
Stevie wrote back
The answer that came back was even better.
A response arrived from the dog herself, Stevie Ticks, though Tolman may have had a hand in drafting it. Written in Stevie's voice, the note accepted the offer and introduced the dog next door as if she were making a formal new-friends agreement.
Stevie explained that she was two years and four months old, had been adopted in Cyprus, and was "very friendly" as well as "full of beans," meaning lively and energetic. She also laid out the terms of any budding friendship. According to Stevie, the price of getting to know her was five ball throws a day and belly scratches whenever she demanded them.
For a group of dog-starved neighbors, it was about as good a reply as they could have hoped for. The exchange had gone from a gamble on a stranger's sense of humor to a full invitation into Stevie's world.
Then came the walk
The letters did not stay on paper.
McCrossan and his housemates got to meet Stevie in person a few days later, and she turned out to be exactly as advertised. McCrossan later said meeting her was great, and that her energy matched the description in the note. The group took her for a walk, and he said she kept running the whole time.
That detail gives the story its payoff. The men were not just rewarded with a funny response. They actually got what they had asked for in the first place: time with a dog they already felt drawn to, and the start of an easy friendship with the people next door.
For Tolman, the whole exchange also meant something beyond one successful walk. She said the letter was a wonderful gesture at a time when many neighbors do not really know one another or speak much at all. In her view, the note from number 23 helped break through that barrier.
That may be part of why so many people responded to it. At its core, this is not only a dog story. It is also a neighborhood story, one where the thing that opens the door is a shared love of an animal.
A small act that kept resonating
As the exchange spread more widely, Tolman said she and her mother were amazed by the affection coming their way from around the world. Writing again in Stevie's voice, she encouraged people with dogs in their lives to share that love with others.
The original household arrangement did not last forever. McCrossan and the other men have since moved away. Stevie, however, is still doing well. As of September 2024, she was about 8 years old and still very much enjoying life. She had even earned a place on the dog wall of fame at a local coffee shop.
The story also fits into a wider pattern that has become more visible in the years since those letters first caught attention online. Pet-sharing and borrowing time with a neighbor's dog have become more common, especially in cities where leases or landlords keep people from having pets of their own. Services such as BorrowMyDoggy, along with local community groups, now connect dog owners with trusted people who want occasional walks, playtime, or dog-sitting without taking on full-time ownership.
Those arrangements can offer something simple but meaningful. People who cannot keep a pet still get companionship. Dog owners get help. In apartment buildings and other close living situations, the setup can ease loneliness, strengthen ties between neighbors, and give non-owners some of the comfort that comes with being around a dog.
That makes Stevie's letter feel bigger than a one-off joke, even though the charm of it is how ordinary it began. Four men missed having a dog in the house. A neighbor had one. They asked. Stevie answered. And for dog lovers, that remains a nearly perfect ending.
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