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  As
told by Em... 
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the beginning of the year two thousand, the Angels who tended
the dogs at the Rainbow Bridge were filled with gratitude and
excitement.
One of their own, Freya, the sweetest, most exuberant
creature ever to grace the Bridge, was granted a wish: to take on the
form of a dog forever and know the love of a family.
Freya
began to hope for this after watching so many happy reunions and being
touched by the love that people and their pets so clearly shared. She
knew love and, in fact, was described as personifying loyalty and love,
but she felt she was missing the best part. She wanted to be with and
love people who were her own. Freya was so sweet in her persistence to
hold this wish that she could not be denied. There was such happiness
for Freya and for the stories that she would be able to tell everyone.
And all at the Bridge were filled with hope and happiness and gratitude
for their littlest Angel and her dream.
There
was some thought given to what type of dog Freya would be. Since
she could not begin to pick a favorite, Freya chose to assume a magical
combination of physical traits resembling most distinctly…..Freya
herself! She would be delicate, with fine bones and beautiful
soft, silky fur the color of autumn leaves at sunset. Her face would
look to everyone she met like an old and wise friend in a young body.
There
was some debate as to whether or not Freya could remain unnoticed on
earth, as the beauty and radiance of her spirit was blinding. The
solution for this was to diminish Freya's body. They took away her
ability to hear, feeling that if her responses to people and life were
slowed, she would appear to be less like the magical being that she was.
They
also impaired her immune system, just a little bit, to dampen the glow
of her inner spiritual light. Now she could blend into the crowd
and live as an earthly creature. Almost as an afterthought, they
blinded her right eye so that people would see that she viewed life and
loved ones with her heart as much as her vision. Ironically, her
most visible disability had the least impact on her life or health.
She could have cared less in her eagerness to begin her wonderful life
with people.
On
her way out of the forest, which surrounds the Rainbow bridge, the
wisest of the Angelic Guardians, Carla, took Freya’s vulnerable little
face in her hands and kissed her forehead. 'Let this kiss become
your third eye, my littlest heart. Earth can be a mean and callous
place so you must focus your heart on finding your people. They
are already preparing for your presence in their lives but you need to
call them. Call them as you are born and as you are sleeping and
as your eyes open.'
Freya
closed her eyes and leapt into the darkness, beginning a life where
nothing was promised beyond where she landed. And she trusted that
she could find her people so all would be everything she'd ever hoped
for.....
Freya
was lucky that puppies’ eyes don't open for 13 days as there was very
little beautiful around her. The feeling of her mother keeping her
warm and fed was a gift that made her feel cozy and safe. It was a
good beginning as far as she knew. Freya didn't know that she was
in a bathroom of a miserable apartment or that her mother was starving.
She knew she felt a love that was stronger than any she'd felt before.
She
couldn't hear the people screaming at each other -- those little ears
that didn't hear would become Freya's best protector as her life went
on.
 One
day Freya could see someone making faces and pointing at her face.
She didn't know he was yelling or that he was angry that the littlest
puppy had a ‘messed up' right eye.
Before
Freya could blink she was brought to the CACC in Manhattan and put in
the 'puppy room'. At this point there was very little hope for her
future -- who would take a 'shepherdy puppy' with a damaged eye?
But a woman named Cheryl from MA wanted that puppy because she knew
nobody else would. Freya began her journey home with Dale, a rotti
rescue volunteer who said from the beginning that there was something
different and wonderful about this little girl.
A
rescuer named Sarah picked up Freya. Sarah had never fostered or
rescued a puppy before and wouldn't have kept Freya if the whole
transport hadn't been filled with miscommunication and accidents.
So Freya found herself in the arms of a woman who held her as she drove toward
Boston and on the subway to Sarah's home. Not a bad start, Freya
didn't like crates.
When
they got home, it was 8:00 p.m., and Sarah was exhausted. She sat
down to rest, looked at the little fur ball walking toward her and said,
“Oh goodness, I think you're Freya.” Sarah had been waiting
for 3 years to meet a dog who fit that name.
Freya
thought, “Yes I am, now can I have some more dog food?' And Freya felt
a little bit better because she knew her third eye had made the right
place happen for her and for Sarah.
After
5 days Freya fell ill.
It
was a blessing that Sarah didn't know anything about rescue puppies. If
she had she would have followed the advice of some and had the little
puppy sent away to the Rainbow Bridge with words of how we can't save
them all.
Freya
was in the hospital for two and a half weeks. Somewhere in the
middle of this, her friends from the Bridge came to visit her in the
night. They sat around her pillow, careful to avoid the IV, and
spoke to her. They told her they were so sorry that she was not
going to be able to fulfill all of her dream and that they had probably
done too much damage to her ability to fight for her life. They
said that they had been casting gauze over the River of Eternity, which
runs underneath the Rainbow Bridge, to capture seeds of joy. With
the seeds, they planted a garden just to the left of the Bridge. A
crop of magnificent flowers were beginning to come up. They'd put
up a wooden sign that read 'Freya's Garden' and she could come with them
and grow big and tall as the flowers bloomed.
Freya
whispered back, 'not yet, not finished here'.
And
Freya lived. The vet said he had no idea what type of illness
Freya had and that he never wanted to see it again.
Sarah
brought her little puppy home having no idea of what to do to help Freya
recover, but knowing that recovery was possible. She and Freya
worked through the next few months by paying attention to most
advice given for how to help a puppy get stronger.
It
was all about teamwork.
And
Freya discovered her favorite word...fascinating!!!
Every
person she met, every new store she ran into (and she ran into every
store) was fascinating.
She
got bigger and stronger and remained as beautiful and as enthralled with
this world as she had ever been.
There
was a skin infection that caused most of her hair to fall out but that
could be treated so she was sort of bald but recovering nicely and
gaining weight.
All
was well with Freya, but she had yet to meet her people. While
Sarah was devoted to her foster dog she was not home. And
some people wanted to 'adopt' Freya, but they didn't seem right to
Sarah, who was very afraid of placing Freya in the wrong
home. This extraordinary dog needed to go to the home that was
meant just for her. Sarah knew this was possible but
questioned her ability to make that choice.
Freya
was not at all riddled with self-doubt about finding her home. She
was getting stronger and meeting more people, all of them fantastic and
different and fun. Freya had found Sarah, and she would get to the
people that would be home: no question, no doubt.
One
night, Sarah spoke with a woman named Deb. Deb was very interested
in meeting Freya and also sad because she had planned to adopt a dog
named Angel but that dog was adopted to somebody else. So Sarah
and Deb talked, both taking a leap of faith, while Freya played with an
empty water bottle like there was no tomorrow.
Deb,
her partner Staci and Sarah made plans to meet in the Boston Common on
the 4th of July. It was a grey day, and Sarah was early so
she and Freya sort of meandered around. Then Sarah saw two women
with huge smiles walking toward them and all eyes were smiling at Freya.
Needless to say, everyone fell in love that grey afternoon. Freya had a
home and this time is was her ‘for real’ home.
What
a wonderful day it was when Sarah drove Freya from the city to the
suburbs. Everybody cried because this was a day of hello and goodbye and
it all centered around this little creature who had beaten the odds and
lived. Freya had a beautiful green backyard with a fence that would keep
her safe. It was her little bit of heaven on earth. Deb had a dog
again, and Staci was already learning how much she could love this
extraordinary creature, a match made in heaven.
The
beginning was a little bit interesting, as Freya expressed her
adolescent and very uninhibited exuberance at being healthy and alive.
She was a handful.
Over
time, everyone morphed into a domestic routine. Freya got up with
Staci in the morning and when Staci held the green leash she knew she
got to go to daycare, where everyone loved her. At night, Deb took care
of Freya and then they all went to bed. Deb sent out regular
pictures of Freya to let everyone know that she was still beautiful and
enjoying the park, her birthday, napping, and all the pictures
were gorgeous. Freya’s extended family included two wonderful
aunts and friends of the rescue who had taken her in. Time passed,
and for a little over two years, life was wonderful. Everyone got
comfortable with this precious child, safe in the world.
And
then Freya got sick. Just like before, it seemed like it could be
simple but she wasn’t getting better. There was reason to
believe she could fight against an unknown enemy. She’d done it once
before, and she wasn’t yet three so she had youth on her side…
But
Freya was getting tired. Clearly she was in trouble, and nobody
could figure out what was wrong. None of the people who loved her
knew that she’d been fighting little sicknesses for her whole life,
but her guardians did.
With
Carla taking the lead, angels from the Rainbow Bridge came to her one
Friday night and took control. They told her body to quit and it did.
But Freya wanted to stay a little bit longer. On Monday, Deb and
Staci chose to send Freya home because they loved her. This world
was no longer home for their little girl. Freya closed her mortal
eyes and began her journey home to the Garden, already planted and growing,
in full bloom bursting with every color.
Right around the time of her third birthday, Miss Freya shed her well
loved earthly skin and began the walk toward home. She walked slowly at
first, even with Carla holding her green leash and leading the way. She wanted to turn back and give everybody one more kiss and
one more hello. So Carla
dropped the leash, and Freya ran back to let everyone know she still
loved them. It was just an instant, but we all knew Freya was still
with us.
Her
many friends and people would be so happy to know Freya's forever home.
She
will never be alone.
She
will never be in pain.
She
will see and hear (even though she pretty much always could).
She
will spend her time, playing in flowers grown from seeds of joy.
She
will greet all the people who come to meet their friends again and
forever.
She
will live every moment in happiness, the darling of the Rainbow Bridge,
waiting for all of us but especially for her people. And when Deb and
Staci are reunited with their girl, the Bridge will fall silent, for
just a moment, in happiness and celebration, that their littlest angel
has her people with her again and for ever.
Take
a lesson from Freya. Greet all new creatures with excitement. Find
your people and fur angels and when you find them keep them with you and
be happy. Love is not a right on this planet -- it is a treasure
and gift without
which our lives have no value.
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Freya's Guestbook
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Freya's Guestbook
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Dog Educational Action Fund
Bo's
Bedtime Stories Page
Freya
story copyright (C) 2003 by E. Rogeness. All rights reserved.
Background graphics by C. Gryting,
Whispering Hope Ranch Web Designs.
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