Father’s Day is celebrated by families in a variety of ways. Some express their love and appreciation for their dads by giving them gifts, while others take their pops out on a special dinner treat. But for this father and son duo, this day was commemorated with a beautiful tribute in the form of two photographs.
While scouring through old pictures, Officer Andrew Gould found an old photo of him and his son, Michael, cruising in his patrol vehicle back in 1998.
The image shows little Michael sitting on his dad’s lap in the police car, with both of them looking out the window and grinning widely as they posed for the shot. The adorable photo clearly showed that they had a great relationship with each other.
As a tribute to their beautiful bond, Officer Gould and Michael decided to recreate the photo on Father’s Day. The results were later posted on the Auburn WA Police Department Facebook page, where it has since garnered thousands of likes and shares.
What made it all better was the note that accompanied it, which Michael wrote when he was just a little boy with big dreams.
“When I get bigger I’m going to be my dad’s partner and catch bad guys and burglars,” the note reads.
It was obvious that Officer Gould was Michael’s hero, that he built his dreams around becoming a man just like his father.
And surely, he did. Michael followed through on his childhood dream and eventually became a police officer!
Now, over 20 years later, the duo decided to return to the patrol car. This time, however, Michael is a lot bigger and wearing his full King County Sheriff’s uniform. Officer Gould, on the other hand, had that same big smile as he did when the original photo was taken.
Posing in the way they did before, the father and son both looked out the window and flashed their best smiles for the camera.
“At 6’7”, it was a hard squeeze to fit Officer Gould’s son in his patrol vehicle on Father’s day this year, but they did it! As you can see, his son did follow his dad into law enforcement just as predicted in this Father’s Day card in 1998. Recreating the photo 20 years later was a wonderful tribute to father and son. Hope all you father’s out there had as wonderful a day as our own Officer Gould!” the Facebook post reads.
Although the two aren’t currently partners, as young Michael had envisioned, being in the same profession has just strengthened their relationship over the years.
Indeed, there is nothing like the bond between a father and his son.
Share this heartwarming story!