The relationship between Frieda and Maria is one of the most powerful in my own annals of the human-animal bond, and I have lived and seen quite a few. There is something wonderful, stirring, bounded and powerful about it. Two strong independent woman, powerfully attached to one another, they always make me think of “Thelma And Louise.” Maria took Frieda, a dog nobody wanted, out of an ASPCA shelter because she wanted a brown and black dog (she is an artist) and because she thought she was cute. I nicknamed Frieda “The Dog Who Kept Men Away,” neither of them liked men much or trusted them. Frieda and I have come a long way since she tried repeatedly to eat me, she is a great and affectionate dog.

But she will always be Maria’s dog, the sun rises and sets on Maria for her, she is always watching her, protecting her and loving her. Frieda is most loyal dog I have ever known, she would put her life down for Maria in a minute. She is a guardian of the farm, and I am touched whenever I look up and see these two proud and loving women talking to one another, a conversation beyond words. Frieda sits quietly by Maria whenever she is making her art, she never gets restless or interferes. Yet Maria and Frieda have healthy boundaries. Frieda is not a soulmate, a therapist, a best bud for Maria. She looks to humans for that, and to one another,  as I do. Frieda has a powerful place in Maria’s life, but it is a proper place, a healthy place. They are inseparable these two. Every night in the winter Maria puts a small blanket over Frieda in case she is warm.

She always watches out for Frieda, Frieda always watches out for her. Frieda often will sleep downstairs, to keep an eye on things, and loves to sun herself out in the yard. But theirs is a very powerful relation, two strong women taking on life, walking together through the world.