One by one, my dog Moe is meeting the regular cast of characters in Mr. Stanley’s neighborhood.

Though Stanley spent most of his pampered life sequestered in his suburban paradise of a large verdant yard and in-ground pool, once we moved into the village, his social side came out in full force, charming everyone he encountered in the streets and shops.

There was bespectacled Mr. Fix-It the friendly handyman who came to the house to make repairs, pretty Miss Tiffany the gregarious barista at Starbucks who prepared him his puppuccino, and Miss Cuckoo, the elderly eccentric neighbor who unfailingly appeared in full stage makeup as she walked her scruffy service dog. Just as unfailingly she always greeted us with a big lip-sticked smile baring a mouth of missing teeth eager to chat and inquire about Stanley.

Today Moe met Mr. Postman.

On the route we often walked Stanley, the mailman was a regular encounter consisting of lots of petting, ear scratches, tail wagging, and love between fast pals.

Last August when we told him the sad news that Stanley had died, he was visibly crushed. A grizzly guy with a bristly army-issued gray crew cut, his looks belied the mush of a heart he had for dogs.  In the weeks that followed, as I walked down the familiar street without my familiar best buddy by my side, he and I entered into lengthy conversations about the profound spirituality of dogs, where they go when they leave, and how they are always still with us even once they die. On those days, neighbors got their mail delivered just a bit later.

Late this morning was the first time I had seen Mr. Postman since I got Moe.

As we approached him standing outside his small white mail truck his eyes lit up in recognition. Names had never been exchanged between us. I was as I am known in many places, simply Stanley’s Mom. Now there were tears in his eyes and a joyous smile as he got down in a crouching position in the snow to introduce himself to Moe, petting him as gently as he spoke to him.

As far as the U.S. Postal system goes, I am now officially Moe’s Mom.