For 17 long and happy years, this sweet dog named Burleigh brought joy to the hearts of Michelle Buckley and her family. But sadly, last August, the dear pup passed away.

“Burleigh, we love you so much,” Buckley wrote at the time. “Thank you for all the love you gave us.”

It’s been nearly a year since Burleigh was laid to rest in a quiet corner of the Buckleys’ backyard, but the pup’s love lingers on still — even among those whom he never got the chance to know.

A couple of months ago, the Buckleys decided the time was right to open their hearts to a new pet. And, before long, they were join by this puppy named Dougie.

Dougie was born after Burleigh had passed, but the family soon came to sense that the two pups shared a mysterious connection.

Buckley began to notice that when she let Dougie out into the yard in the morning, he would always head to the same spot — the site of Burleigh’s grave.

“We have such a huge yard for Dougie to explore, yet every morning for about an hour he sits calmly here, right where Burleigh is buried,” Buckley wrote.

Why Dougie is drawn to the spot isn’t exactly clear. But Buckley has a guess.

“It seems like he knows,” she wrote.

While Dougie may have never met the pup his family loved before him, they nevertheless seem to share some unexplained connection that draws Dougie to that spot each and every morning.

Seeing it firsthand, his family can’t help but feel moved.

“He must sense something,” Buckley wrote, adding: “He is the sweetest puppy and he’s healing our hearts.”