Freya The Bark Goddess

Adorable, but frightened. That was my dog Freya when I first saw her at the humane society. The funny thing was they gave me the wrong pup when I first showed up and brought her out. She stood out from the rest with her colored eyes and unfortunately, she had ringworm. From the information I gathered her entire litter was left in a box during the rain. I wish I could have adopted them all, but I could only take Freya.

I knew the moment I met her when she crawled up into my lap that she was the dog for me. My heart grew 10x bigger that day. Freya brought a lot of light and love into my life. Our following experiences were a lot of poop jokes. She pooped in the car on the way home, and on the first walk. Something scared her and she pooped herself. I carried her home poop and all.

I raised her, and watched her grow into an amazing, kind, and loving dog. Freya is a black-mouth cur hound and turned 5 this year. 5 years of a silly scaredy cat dog who looks a bit like Scooby Doo. I even got a matching Scooby Doo tattoo for her. I'm a full-time student that takes online courses so Freya is always around. Freya has a couple unique quirks that I find hilarious. She can shake paw, but she also learned to high five. When I need an uplift, I'll ask her for a high five.

As a hound she likes to use her nose for everything. Opening doors, poking my leg when she wants to be pet etc. When she sleeps, I get to watch her run in her dreams; her paws kicking around. Shes very vocal, howling at me or making her presence known. Shes afraid of thunderstorms and loud noises, but not the vacuum cleaner.

Above all she is loving and tolerant of everyone. There isn't a dog that she hasn’t gotten along with, and she even loves the cats. She shares her bones and snacks with our other dogs. She likes to snuggle close and put her paw on me when I'm working.

Freya however is afraid of people and it makes it difficult to have her socialize in public. She will stick close to me instead rather than approach others. I love her either way. Freya is the very best of me, and I want her to be known far and wide! She exhibits the very best of what we value as humans. Compassion, kindness, love, patience and grace. I like to think she would be an adventurer like me if she was a human. She was a born with a spirit to explore always leading with her snout.

Freya has changed my life in so many different ways. I am forever grateful to the non-profits that provide the space for adoptions. To those who go out of their way to rescue these animals. Freya rescued me in a dark time in my life. Fresh out of the army, and an Afghanistan veteran. I was in a transitional period in my life trying to find where I stood. Funny how that works out; we both rescued the other when we needed it most.

My favorite part of the day is looking over my shoulder to see her comfortably asleep on the bed. I know deep down in my heart that she knows she is loved. She is living her best life and allows me to be a part of her life. Regardless of how long we have together, she has made an impression on my heart. One that will live on with me and inside me. Her love is unconditional and pure. Something we as humans search our entire lives for and some never find. Yet, she gives it freely to me. That’s the kind of example I want to live my life by.