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For five years, 9-year-old golden retriever Abbey had a routine built entirely around one person: Ed Freeman, her UPS driver. According to her owner, Roxanne Hillbish of Yorba Linda, California, Abbey would run downstairs the moment she heard Freeman’s truck coming down the street, grab her favorite stuffed toy, and wait by the door for him to arrive. Even on days when no one was home, Freeman would leave a bone on the doorstep just for her.
Hillbish said Abbey loves making connections with people, a trait common to golden retrievers, but her bond with Freeman went further than most. He made a habit of stopping for dogs along his route, especially ones that waited outside, and over the years, Abbey became one of his regulars.
Then, without warning, the visits stopped. Hillbish said Abbey hadn’t seen Freeman in a few weeks and had started to seem noticeably down. What the family didn’t know was that Freeman had used up his remaining vacation time before quietly taking early retirement after 35 years at UPS.
A video posted to Abbey’s TikTok account captured what turned out to be their final visit together, though nobody realized it at the time. The clip, captioned with the line that they hadn’t known it was goodbye, shows Abbey greeting Freeman with her usual excitement, unaware she wouldn’t see his truck again. The video spread quickly, drawing more than 2.1 million views and over 274,000 likes, with people online moved by the idea that Abbey never got the chance to properly say farewell.
Freeman ended up seeing the video himself and responded directly in the comments, saying he missed Abbey and all his other regular canine customers, and reflecting on what he called a great 35-year run at the company.
The story didn’t end there. Once he saw how many people had been touched by Abbey’s reaction, Freeman made a point of visiting her in person for the first time as a retiree. Hillbish said Abbey’s heart was full, and so was the family’s, thanking Freeman for taking the time to come see her again.
What started as a simple delivery route stop turned into one of those bonds that, according to Hillbish, shows how much connection two beings can build over small, repeated moments, treats, toys, and a dog who never stopped waiting for her favorite person to show up.
Original story here.
