A golden retriever was left heartbroken when her favorite UPS driver retired early without saying goodbye, little did they know, a special reunion was just around the corner.
Over the past five years, 9-year-old Abbey has built up an adorable bond with Ed Freeman, the a delivery driver. Her owner, Roxanne Hillbish, 62, told Newsweek that Abbey would run downstairs as soon as she heard Freeman’s truck coming down the street and wait for his arrival. Even if Abbey and her owners were not home, Freeman would kindly leave a bone on the doorstep.
“Abbey absolutely loves to make connections with people; she’s a typical golden that loves everyone,” Hillbish, of Yorba Linda, California, said. “She loved to grab a stuffy and go out and wait for him to stop at our house.
“Ed took the time to stop when he saw a dog and would also stop at houses where dogs sit outside all day. The highlight of their day was hearing his whistle, running to the gate and getting a treat from Ed.”
Indeed, Freeman told Newsweek that the neighborhood dogs had “become like family” over the years. He looked forward to seeing each one and said those moments helped him “get through the day.”
Unfortunately, Abbey had not seen Freeman for a few weeks and Hillbish said she was “getting a little depressed” by his absence. As it turned out, Freeman was using his vacation before taking an early retirement following 35 years at UPS.
A video was shared on Abbey’s dedicated TikTok account (@abbeysgoldenlife), showing the golden retriever and her favorite delivery driver. The caption layered over the clips says they “didn’t know this was goodbye” and Abbey did not even get to say farewell.
A Happy Reunion
The video has melted hearts online, generating over 2.1 million views and 274,100 likes on TikTok at the time of writing. The online reaction has been overwhelmingly supportive, and many people reached out insisting that they needed to reunite Abbey and Freeman one last time.
It turned out, they were able to do just that.
Hillbish said: “Many people tagged UPS, there were comments from people working for UPS who wanted to help, and Ed’s son even saw the post. Ed ended up showing up at our house the next morning. My husband was outside and came in with Ed and said I needed to come downstairs and bring Abbey. Needless to say, we were so surprised to see him.
“Abbey went crazy and was running around looking for a stuffy to bring him. When Ed was leaving our house, he had his box of bones and did his typical route, stopping at each house where dogs would wait outside so he could give them a treat.”
Freeman was so moved by his reunion with Abbey, recalling how much joy filled the room in that moment. A follow-up video of the surprise visit was shared on TikTok, much to the internet’s delight.
Freeman continued: “Abbey never failed to show her joy and excitement. I can’t think of a more perfect route to end my career with. It has been my utmost pleasure to serve this community and I want to convey my gratitude to UPS for the opportunity. My 35 years, four weeks, and four days were an incredible blessing. Thank you to all the dogs that have given so much love to each of my days.”
While Hillbish will miss Freeman’s presence dearly, she’s grateful for the kindness he showed Abbey over the years. She told Newsweek that he is an “everyday hero” who always took the time to stop and pet any dog along his route.
Hillbish has been so touched by the online reaction and has loved reading through all the uplifting comments from people around the world.
“What I think is beautiful is how a simple friendship between our sweet UPS driver and our loving golden retriever has brought so many people together,” Hillbish continued. “It just shows how many caring people there are, and these little acts of kindness mean so much.”
In just a matter of days, the TikTok video has generated over 4,300 comments already. Many people responded by praising the bond between Abbey and Freeman and hailed his generosity.
One TikTok user wrote: “I’m crying for your baby because [she] doesn’t understand, [she] just knew that the big truck delivered all the love in the world.”
A comment from UPS reads: “Once a UPSer, always a UPSer.”
While another person added: “That’s it, Ed must do a weekly visit during retirement!”
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.
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