Hrafnkötlu Esja

Esja (Hrafnkötlu-Esja) IS30395/21

Esja was born on February 17, 2021 – and she’s utterly obsessed with cars. She absolutely loves traveling in one, and the highlight of her day is chasing them, barking furiously to drive them off her “territory.” In May 2022, she was actually hit by a passing car. Luckily, the car was driving slowly enough that she survived the accident. That, however, didn’t cure her car obsession, and to this day it’s just as important to chase every car that passes by as it was when she still had four working legs.

She was taken straight to the vet after the accident, completely knocked out from the impact. On the way, she woke up, seemingly ready to carry on chasing the car again — unaware that she’d been unconscious for nearly fifteen minutes and the car was long gone. Esja was X-rayed and had an ultrasound of both her spine and chest to rule out internal bleeding. Nothing serious was found apart from a few broken teeth — no internal bleeding, no broken bones — but one of her front legs had lost all feeling. It was decided she could go home, while they kept an eye on whether sensation would return and if her circulation was good enough to prevent tissue death. The circulation seemed fine, but her leg simply hung down, and the poor little thing had no control over where it went. The leg was placed in a sling so it wouldn’t always drag in her way. For the first few weeks, Esja often ended up flat on her face when moving around — there was, after all, only one front leg left to run on.

Giving up was never an option for her. The other dogs in the household — Salka (a Border Collie) and Álfur (an Icelandic Sheepdog) — were so gentle with her, playing when she wanted and letting her rest when she needed. It was almost as if she was getting physical therapy from Salka, such was the understanding between them. For a long time, Esja struggled with stairs, especially going down. Fortunately, the break room in our stable has only two steps leading down into the barn — luckily not more — because, in the beginning, she often ended up rolling down when her leg didn’t take her weight quite right.

Now, four years later, Esja is full of energy. She runs after ravens, argues and scolds the other dogs in the house. She’s still in “physical therapy” with Salka, and when she’s had enough of the commotion, she shamelessly plays her “disabled card,” making it perfectly clear that, as a disabled dog, she must not be bullied.

Esja is a real go-getter. She has raised 11 Rimakot puppies in two litters (five in the first and six in the second). She never backs down from anyone and always has to get the last word in — there’s always one final bark, even when she’s being scolded herself.

Despite everything she’s been through, Esja is living proof that willpower, joy for life, and a touch of humor can overcome just about anything. The title photo was taken by Carolin Giese on February 21, 2026.

Text written in February 2026.