Facts you don’t know about Loki.

Good bye my boy Lok🕯 .

Loki: The First Howl of My Heart

By Thane Rivers

They say a pet chooses you. But in my case, it was a grandmother’s wisdom that set my destiny on four paws. Before there was the “Bearded Viking,” before the cameras and the morning affirmations, there was a lonely boy, a quiet cabin, and a gift that would shape my soul forever.

My grandmother, a woman of few words and ancient Scandinavian spirit, saw something in me I couldn’t see in myself. She saw a restless heart in need of an anchor. One winter morning, as the Minnesota snow lay heavy on the pines, she placed a squirming ball of gray and white fur into my ten-year-old hands.

“He’s trouble,” she said, a knowing glint in her eye. “They call that color pattern agouti—the color of wolves and wild things. He’ll need a strong name. Call him Loki.”

She was right on both counts.

From that moment, Loki was not just a dog; he was my first confidant, my partner in every childhood adventure. We would disappear for hours into the woods behind her cabin. He wasn’t a pet on a leash; he was a spirit guiding me, teaching me to read the silence between the trees, to move with purpose, to listen. I’d talk to him about my dreams and fears, and he’d listen with his head tilted, his ice-blue eyes holding a wisdom that felt centuries old.

The Chaos and the Comfort

True to his name, he was a glorious agent of chaos. He once chewed the leg off my grandfather’s favorite chair. He’d steal socks and present them like trophies. But in the quiet, he was my sanctuary. When I felt lost or unsure, I’d bury my face in his thick fur—a scent of pine, snow, and unconditional love. He was the steady, breathing warmth at the foot of my bed through every storm, both outside and within.

My grandmother passed when I was sixteen, and the grief was a vast, cold landscape. But Loki was there. He’d rest his head on my knee with a heavy sigh, as if sharing the weight of the loss. He was my last, living link to her, to that world of simple magic she represented.

The Howl That Built a Family

Loki lived a long, wild, and beloved life. He was my constant through my Navy years, my first heartbreaks, and the uncertain beginnings of my journey online. He was the foundation. And when he passed, peacefully under our favorite pine tree, I felt a chapter close. But his spirit was too big to be contained.I knew I could never replace him. But I could honor him by building the pack he always seemed to promise. In time, I welcomed Freya, then Valkyrie, and finally Hella into our home. Each one carries a piece of that original, wild-hearted legacy Loki began. When they howl together—a sound that starts deep in their chests and rises to the stars—I hear his voice in the chorus. He taught me how to love them, how to lead them, and how to build a family.So, when you see my four huskies now, know that the story started with one. A gift from a wise woman to a lost boy. A wolf-colored puppy named for a trickster god, who became the gentlest, truest friend a man could ever have.

Loki wasn’t just my first husky. He was the first howl of my heart, and his echo builds my home every single day.