Goodbye Hailie

It's been nearly two weeks since we lost Hailie. I've wanted to write a little something and put up some old pictures of her but, because of her death and many other reasons, it's been a busy and difficult time and I haven't yet had the chance.

Last night we scattered her ashes in the mountains near my mom's house and it seemed like as good an occasion as any to motivate me to finally write up her digital eulogy.

When the dogs were younger I'd let them run and play in clearing just outside my mom's place in Silverthorne. One winter Bowen jumped into an icy lake but that's a story for another time. The three photos above are of the dogs playing in the same area where we scattered Hailie's ashes. They loved playing there so hopefully it's a fitting place for the scattering. We always said Hailie looked like a little deer when she'd run though tall grass because she kind of jumped and bounced. So it was somewhat fitting that we saw a young deer bound though the woods last night shortly after we had our little ceremony.

The boys have definitely had a hard time with her loss but it's hard for them to articulate it at their young age. The day after Hailie's passing LT wanted to do an art project for her. It was the sweetest and most heart wrenching thing I've seen in a long time. I guess he gets that sentimental streak from me - when it started to become clear that the end was near, I grabbed my camera and tried to capture a few final photos of our sweet girl. The shot above with Kari and LT is one of the last pictures I have of her (Adler was asleep and probably wouldn't have sat still for a photo anyway).

Bowen came over while I was taking pictures and laid down next to Hailie and, it's probably just a silly coincidence, but they put their paws together like they were holding hands.

Kari wasn't a dog person but becoming a part of my family has changed that. Hannah and Daisy, our family dogs from my childhood, started to change her. Then my dad got Molly when he was living in Texas. Molly was an ugly but unbelievably sweet little Boxer girl and I think she really won Kari over. Trevor, a friend of ours, had a wonderful female Boxer named Baylee and fate was sealed when Kari found out that Baylee's sister was having a litter of pups.

Kari's more impulsive that I am and I never would have gotten a dog at that stage of life. But once I realized she'd made her mind up, I embraced it fully. So while Hailie was really Kari's dog, I treated her like she was my own. I helped Kari chose Hailie from photos of the litter of pups and by 'helped' what I mean is that I absolutely insisted that she get the one little girl. She is #2 in the photo above with her three brothers.

This is Trevor with Hailie as a puppy and above that is a picture of Hailie with his dog, and her aunt, Baylee.

I'm biased, of course, but I think she was a very cute puppy.

The summer we got her, I'd just been laid off so I became the stay at home puppy parent. Despite it being the second time I'd been canned by the same boss, we were still friends, so one day I took Hailie on a playdate to play with her dog Gizmo. Giz was nice enough to let her win some of the wrestling matches.

She was also very good buddies with Cory, my mom's dog at the time. I did eventually find a job so when my stay at home parent days ended, Hailie would sometimes go to 'daycare' at my mom's house during the day and hang out with Cory.

Going to the park one day with Hailie puppy and a little girl that Kari was nannying for, I think, was the first time I realized that I'd probably marry Kari and someday have a family with her. I also think it was the first time I realized that that was okay (a big realization for a guy in his early 20's).

And some years later I would have that family and this picture of LT with Hailie always reminds me of the one above it and that transitional moment in my life.

She and Bowen were with us when we got engaged in Estas Park.

Before we got Bowen I'd let her run off leash in the parks and play with other dogs. Which she loved and people always referred to her as "the happy Boxer."

The addition of Bowen to our family defiantly changed life for Hailie (as would LT and Alder some years later).

But they were good buddies.

Hailie had already 'graduated' from puppy class but got to do it again with her new brother. She was a star student while Bowen wasn't exactly at the top of the class.

She did love to run and play but maybe more than anything she loved to snuggle.

Here she and Molly (who I mentioned earlier) are snugging with my dad.

Cory, like it or not, was one of her favorite snuggle buddies. Shown above after a fun day swimming and playing at a dog park.

But just about anytime was a good time to snuggle with Cory.

She, like most dogs, also liked windows - especially this floor to ceiling window at my old apartment.


And she's aways been kind of a princess. We had a terrible time getting her to use the dog door when we finally moved to a house that had a yard. It was such an accomplishment when she finally started using it that I took a picture as proof or commemoration (can't remember which).

Speaking of being a princess - I took her skiing one day at Mt. Evans. She was very happy on the hike up but didn't want to come down where we skied. I thought she'd eventually follow me but she stood at the top and cried and cried. I skied about half way down but eventually I had to hike straight back up the chute to get her and come back down the long way.

The next summer when we tried it Kari went with us without skis so Hailie could hike the part she liked but not the scary part.

Anyway, if you've made it this far, thanks for letting me indulge with all these old photos of my baby girl. I had a hard time just getting down to this many - I have tons and tons more.

I don't know a better way to memorizer her than to celebrate her life. She was a wonderful dog and I think she had a happy life with us. I know we were happy and lucky to have her in our lives.

I hope that, wherever she is now, she is being met with the same gentle love and kindness that she brought into our lives.

We love and miss you, Hailie.