Men wrote a note asking to walk neighbors' dog — and the dog responded

Jack McCrossan and his three housemates aren't allowed to have a pet in the home they recently began renting in Bristol, England, so they decided to write a letter to their new neighbors asking if they could walk or play with their dog sometime.

"We hope this doesn't come too strong, but our landlord won't allow pets , and we've all grown up with animals. The adult life is a struggle without one," read the letter to the neighbors. The housemates signed it "the boys."

But how's this for a twist? The dog, Stevie Ticks, wrote back.

READ ALSO:
8 tips to make your dog happy

Been saying we’d love a dog about the house but our landlord doesn’t allow pets, so my housemate posted a letter to our neighbours asking if we could walk their dog every once and a while and the response was better than we could have ever hoped for pic.twitter.com/dcMOfPk5UH
— Jack McCrossan (@Jack_McCrossan)

"I love meeting new people and it would be great if we could be friends. I must warn you that the price of my friendship is five ball throws a day and belly scratches whenever I demand them," Stevie, a 2-year-old labrador and German shepherd mix who calls herself a "sheprador," "wrote."

Stevie even sealed the envelope the letter came in with her paw print.

If your dog’s acting funny, get out the umbrella! According to a Petside.com/Associated Press poll, 72% of dog owners believe their dog can detect when stormy weather is on the way.

McCrossan shared the letters on Twitter, where his tweet has been liked more than 500,000 times."We hadn’t properly met our neighbors beforehand so it was a complete gamble as to whether they would respond or not," McCrossan told TODAY. "Thankfully they were really good about it and the reply was far better than anything we were expecting, if anything at all."Stevie's "servants," Chris Bowley and Sarah Tolman, said they empathized with their new neighbors and were more than happy to write back.

"We've always believed that the love dogs give should be shared by all," they told TODAY in an email. "It's incredibly difficult to have your own dog with renting so it makes sense for us to share the love out."

READ ALSO:
Just a dog walker with a dog on his shoulders

On Sunday, McCrossan and his housemates Iwan, James and Chris finally got the chance to meet their new four-legged friend.

Update: The boys from 23 just met Stevie, looks like the start of a beautiful friendship (Give Stevie a follow on Instagram: stevieticks) #stevieticks pic.twitter.com/HkhDzzQcSG
— Jack McCrossan (@Jack_McCrossan)

"Sarah let us meet her and get the photos that people were waiting for," McCrossan said. "After this she let us hang about with Stevie on our own for a bit to give us a chance to get plenty of belly scratches in. We then took her out for a walk to a nearby park to play about and throw the ball for her."

Invest in an escape-prevention harness if you have a small dog and a fenced-in yard. A little silly looking, but safer than risking a runaway dog. Buy it here.

Stevie was thrilled to met some new friends, her owners said. She's also become a local celebrity.

"Since she went viral she's now recognized out and about. She's taken her celebrity status in stride," they said. The adorable dog now has more than 42,000 followers on her @StevieTicks Instagram account.

McCrossan said he and his housemates plan to see Stevie again, and will make sure to give her plenty of treats and belly rubs.

"Of course dogs are always loved in these types of stories," he said, explaining why he thinks his tweet went viral. "But I think the response being so good from our neighbors that we had never met before has shown that a bit of mutual friendliness and humor between strangers can go a long way."