Hailey

   Hailey was one of the best dogs I've ever had. I had her when I was younger, maybe five or six years old, and she literally did everything for me. She would let me use her as a pillow when I was laying down, and even let me ride her around the house like a horse, considering my small size. She was what I looked forward to seeing every time we came home. Hailey would get so excited, and run around the house barking with excitement that we had returned home again.
   The only problem was Hailey got a little too excited every time we came home. When we arrived home Hailey would always urinate on the floor, instead of waiting to go outside to go to the bathroom. At first my family shrugged it off and just found it as an inconvenience, but it began to happen every single time we came home. One day I came home from school and my parents told me and my sister Christine that they had taken Hailey to the vet. The veterinarian had told my parents that Hailey just needed more space to run around, and she needed to be in the open outdoors.
   Our family didn't really think much of what the vet had said, considering we had a huge backyard that Hailey could run around in if she wanted. So, we let Hailey stay outside more often than she had been inside, and everything was fine for awhile. Until I came home from school another day and my parents told me they took Hailey back to the vet, which came as a shock to me. I thought everything was fine, why would they take Hailey back?
   My parents sat me and Christine down at the kitchen table, and told us that the veterinarian took Hailey and sent her away to a farm where she could run around as often as she wanted, and with as much space as she needed. Me and Christine were so confused.. Everything was going fine, or so we thought, why did Hailey have to go? And to a farm? I didn't even get to say goodbye to Hailey. It wasn't fair, and everything was so confusing. Me and Christine both started crying. How could they tell us that just abruptly?
   Pretty soon me and Christine got over it though, as much as we possibly could, and we got a new dog a year or two later. I found out just two years ago that Hailey didn't actually go to a farm, the veterinarian had to put her to sleep. That was the most heartbreaking news of all. My parents never wanted to tell me or Christine, because since we were so young they didn't think we'd be able to handle it. It makes me even more sad to think about now that Hailey was one of the best dogs I've ever had, and she didn't even go to that farm, she had to be put to sleep. I guess she had kidney failure, that's why she went to the bathroom every time we came home. I still think about Hailey occasionally, and I'll never forget how she was such a big part of my childhood, and helped contribute to my love of animals even more.

-Courtney