Two weeks ago today we lost our beloved Hailey. 

Always smiling.

We had spent the previous few days preparing for our first trip in the new travel trailer. Lynne and I, along with the three dogs and the cat were going to New Mexico to visit my family in the Albuquerque area. We delayed our departure by four days because of weather. So, we were going to hit the road on Thursday.

My feet are cold!

Hailey was as energetic as ever. In fact, on Tuesday we took a walk down to the pond to retrieve the game camera memory cards and she went along. When I got to a place that was off the trail, she crawled under a log, waded through the stream and negotiated through some fallen trees to find me!

Overnight on Wednesday we heard her breathing change. It became somewhat distressed and her color was not good. She just lay on her side and when we pet her she'd wag her tail. We laid on the floor with her for a long time and when she seemed to rally some, we went to bed. When we woke and checked on her, she had just passed.

She loved going on walks.

Hailey was well over 13 years old. That is very, very old for a Bernese Mountain Dog. And, old age finally caught up with her.

We miss her so much. The way she would wake us first thing in the morning by barking, annoying at the time and now much missed. She would cheer on any play between Destin and Bella. She was always ready for a ride into town or a walk. She liked to chase cows when young, and just stared them down from the truck when older. We had lots of nicknames for her: Lurper (because she liked to give lurping kisses); Lurr-Lurr (a take off of Lurper, I guess), The "H" Dog, and especially The Energizer Bunny because she had endless energy. We tease her about having 4 wheel drive on walks because nothing stopped her.

So, mornings are difficult. Feeding time is especially hard as we still have three bowls and that girl did love to eat. We miss her cleaning up the crumbs of dog biscuits that the others just leave behind. Walks are more lonely. As are trips to town. 

We left on our vacation on Thursday one dog short and very sad.

Hailey by the campfire in hunting season.

Lynne says she is not ready to write about Hailey yet. But, I'm sure she will share some of her thoughts soon.