Farewell Freyja

Today was a tearful day for our family as we bid a final goodbye to our dear dog, Freyja. We knew it was coming. We knew almost a year ago that things were wrong. But she kept up longer than even the vet had thought. She was put down in a peaceful state. She was already only partly with us, and it was with heavy hearts that we left the animal hospital and returned home to what now feels like an empty house.

Freyja was a surprise. For me, at least. I suspect my sister knew, since she’s hard to keep a secret from. On December 25^th, 2006, we were informed of her arrival into our home the next day. She was so little, that I could hold her in one of my own little arms. I was so excited to go to sleep that night because her box would be in my room. Little did I know what I had gotten myself into. All night she cried and whined and would not go to sleep—no matter how much classical music I played (it is for this reason that I still find it hard to hear Mozart). It was in the wee hours of the morning that I hysterically informed my mother “I don’t think I like her very much”. The next day however, with that sweet little face of hers, my heart melted and it’s been that way ever since. She wormed her way not only into our family’s hearts, but even into the hearts of die-hard cat lovers.  She was abundantly happy in the company of anyone, even the vet!


She sure had her quirks though (which may be why she fit in so well with us). She could be racing around the house, but the second you picked her up or placed a towel or blanket over her head, she would freeze. It wasn’t until she was about seven years old that she figured out how to remove said covering off of her head.

Even though she was often well behaved (she prayed before dinner for goodness sake!), Freyja also got into her fair share of mischief. One time, when I was about thirteen, my friend came over for a sleepover and we made chocolate pudding. A big bowl. With spoons in our hands, we were ready to tuck in when my mum asked if we wanted to rent a movie (yes, we still had that back then!). We made sure to close the door to keep the dog out as we trekked out to find a movie (“Freaky Friday”, most likely). Upon our return, we found the door to our room open, and the bowl empty. Now I don’t just mean mostly empty. This bowl looked like it had been through the dishwasher.  Freyja didn’t have a speck of the stuff on her or anywhere else! Had it not been for her abundant energy, we would never have been able to prove it was her.

Dear Freyja, sweet, sweet Freyja, you were the best dog ever. You always will be. I loved falling asleep next to you last night. I loved cuddling you today, and I loved playing with you when you had the energy to run. To paraphrase Robert Munsch, “We’ll love you forever, we’ll like you for always. For as long as we’re living, our puppy you’ll be.”

Rest in Peace Freyja.

Freyja
~ October 13th, 2006- August 8th, 2016~