Widowed David Whitehead, 75, recently move to Chorlton in Manchester and confessed to missing “canine contact” after previously looking after rescue dogs with his late wife
A pensioner who sent a heart-warming letter to his neighbours asking if could meet anyone with pet dogs and join them on walks admitted their response “far exceeded” his expectations.
Widowed David Whitehead, 75, recently moved to Chorlton in Manchester but due to living in a rental property he was unable to have his own pet. In the heart-breaking letter, the former professor of ancident history confessed to missing “canine contact” after previously looking after rescue dogs with his late wife.
The letter was later shared to a social media group with his permission, leading to a barrage of kind messages and offers of company. According to David, he has met five dogs already with more meets lined up for the next week. Speaking to the MEN he said: “The response has far exceeded my expectations. From Tuesday’s flyer that I distributed throughout Acres Road, l got five replies out of 40 odd.
“And now, so far, a further six have been replies thanks to the document’s afterlife on Facebook and in the paper. So I’m delighted. Five dogs met already, and more lined up for next week.” Two of the pooches he has already met are Mango and Peach who belong to fellow Chorlton resident, Lauren Longman. She came across David’s note on Facebook like hundreds of others and decided to reach out to him and meet at a local cafe in Chorlton. She said: “He hadn’t seen how popular it was, so I told him how many likes and comments there was and he was very surprised.
“I have two dogs who are very friendly with people and I thought about my dad who was a similar age and is obsessed with dogs. If he wasn’t allowed with dogs, I really hope that some of his neighbours and the community would share theirs with him.
“He’s a lovely man, very intelligent and it was really interesting to hear about his life in academics. What he’s done is very brave, it’s really lovely that he’s felt the Chorlton community have been so nice to share their dogs with him. I don’t think I would have felt courageous enough to do it.”
In the notes that David posted on Tuesday, he provided his mobile number and asked for those in the local area to reach out if they were interested, before apologising for the ‘unsolicited note’. He penned: “Hello. Do excuse this unsolicited letter from a well-meaning neighbour. Last month I came to live at Acres Rd.
“Because my house is rented, I am prohibited from keeping a dog (or indeed any kind of pet). Which saddens me. In an earlier life in County Down, Northern Ireland – my late wife and I homed a sequence of rescue-dogs, and I very much miss canine contact. I am writing to ask, therefore, whether you have a dog or dogs yourself and, if you do, whether you might allow me to meet him/her/them. Beyond that, occasionally joining you on a walk (not-too-strenuous: I am 75!) would mean a lot to me.
“Again: my apologies if you find this approach intrusive; it is certainly not meant to be. If you don’t, please consider texting me so that we can discuss how to proceed. Thank you and best wishes.”
David says that while the letter was out of his ‘comfort zone’ he felt compelled to reach out for support due to loneliness. David’s wife, Arlene, sadly passed away last year and he has recently moved from Northern Ireland where he lived with her after leaving Manchester in 1992. “”t was outside my comfort zone to do anything like this,” He told the MEN. “l realised that it was likely to pay higher dividends than simply sitting in a park and hoping for the best.
“l had been lonely since March 2024, when my wife died after a long illness. But that was in Northern Ireland. I subsequently decided to move back to Manchester. And it was being here, in a rented house, that made me miss so acutely the dogs we had always had over there. So I did take this uncharacteristic step of “putting myself out there” and l am very glad l did.”
Thanking all the people who left kind messages and have offered to spend time with him, David said: “I’d like to thank also the extraordinary number of people who “liked” or commented on the FB post or the piece in the paper. I only saw one ungracious remark in what was otherwise an ocean of kindness and support.”