Thousands Mourn Charlie, a Very Good Boy

Sallie Hammett wrote an obituary for her dog, thinking it would help her sort through some tough feelings. Having now gone viral, the write-up—designed to look like it would appear in a newspaper—has thousands mourning along with her. "Born July 15th, 2013, in Easley, South Carolina, Charlie was the son of Sallie Gregory Hammett," the Greenville woman wrote in the obit posted to Twitter on Sept. 22. The golden retriever she took home at 8 weeks old was adopted four years later by her husband, "loving dog dad" David Hammett, the obit continued. Charlie loved walking, stick collecting, swimming, smiling, sleeping, bananas, socks, the beach, car rides, and going to his grandparents' house, where he'd chase squirrels, she added. In fact, "Charlie loved everything life had to offer (except stairs. He hated stairs)."

She recalls one time the 80-pound dog was "being especially stubborn" and had to be carried up four flights of stairs, per CNN. But he was worth it. "More than anything else, Charlie loved his mom," the obit reads. "He was her constant companion." Charlie, who had lymphoma, died Sept. 13 at age 7. But his last days were sweet. At the beach, "he relaxed in the Charlie-sized holes he dug himself, and dove straight into the oncoming waves." Hammett noted "we will think of him every time we open the peanut butter." She told CNN that if you gave Charlie peanut butter on a banana, "you would think it was just the best day of his life." The obit has received more than 110,000 likes. But more important are "all the people that say they loved Charlie even though they never met him," Hammett tells HuffPost. "It makes me feel less alone and just flooded with love." (More obituary stories.)