Freya(Coolemore Laura) 2007-2020
‘Little Freya’ as she was known at the kennels came to live with us in spring 2013. She came from Ireland like so many dogs and raced at Tralee on the west coast. She moved to England and raced at Harlow in Essex and Henlow in Bedfordshire. She had 36 races in total with 8 wins, but retired with an injury in August 2010.
Before we met her at Hersham we know she had some troubled times at other kennels, but we can honestly say that from the day she walked through our door at home she was the perfect companion. She was our third dog from the rescue kennels, so we had experience of corns and the need to look after teeth which can be part of the greyhound package. Homeopathic remedies kept the corns under control and teeth cleaning several times a week enabled her to keep at least some of her teeth to the end.
Over the years she enjoyed trips to the beach at Swanage and in North Devon on annual holidays, although she never really trusted the sea! She became used to grandchildren visiting, the noise of the TV, vacuum cleaner, telephone and all the other appliances that must sound so strange to a dog. However she could still hear me coming home from work in the car at least 3 miles away! She never got used to fireworks though. The only thing that would make her bark was the sight of a squirrel running along the back fence, but in recent years even that would not be worth the bother! She would move from bed to bed during the day, depending on which was the sunniest, and later in the evening the legs would start up in preparation for the sleep racing in her dreams. We often wondered which track she was remembering!
In the last few years she had a few health problems but could still bounce around the garden when she fancied. Over the years she became very much part of the family, fitting in with our routines as if she had always been there. Right from the first week she would pick up a shoe from the rack by the front door and carry it to her bed, continuing until she had either transported all of them or got bored with the game. Apart from a bit of dribble, the shoes were none the worse for it, a habit that we also remembered from our previous hound. They did share a few common ancestors!
She also had quite a vocabulary, we counted over 30 woods or commands that she seemed to understand. Apart from the food related words like ‘sausage’, ‘chicken’ and ‘Bonio’, we always said ‘going shopping’ if we were not able to take her out with us, and she would always plod back to her bed as we went out of the door, sometimes with a look over her shoulder as if to say ‘are you sure I can’t come?’ but never a fuss or complaint. A truly special dog and we were lucky to have had her in our home for the last 7 1/2 years.
Nick and Christine Feast
