i remember the first time i met hayden... she was tiny and full of too much energy... she was timid of large things and the outdoors made her spark with adrenaline... her coat was always coarse, yet soft... and although she didn't stay so tiny, her energy remained at a maximum... we called her "little cow" for the brown and black spots scattered over her plump body... or "the lesbian" because she seemed too butchy to be a girl pup... she'd routinely jump up on your lap, or push off the floor with all her might to reach you when you were standing... all she wanted was to lick your face -- if you made the goal harder on her, she'd only up her efforts... as she got older she began to take habit to humping legs... yeah, we never quite figured that out... we often joked that her pea brain was what made her so silly... her little head on her pudgy body could only contain so much common sense... but regardless of all the innocent taunting, we all knew we loved her dearly... she made us laugh and made us fight to stay dry of slobber... 
years ago she had her first seizure... my brother says she lost complete control of her body and proceeded to shake for about a minute or so... in the past few years the incidences dramatically increased... in her last few months she was literally confined to her crate, to ensure she wouldn't hurt herself or soil the carpets while my brother and his wife were at work... it would cost $1800 to find out what was wrong... and if they did find out, it could be upwards of $200 for medicine every month to help subside it... or even more if a surgical procedure was the cure... although it would be wonderful to say that the price means nothing when it comes to something you love, in this case they couldn't afford to keep her going... even more importantly, they couldn't stand to watch her continue... her fight is over now... no longer is she confined to the fence-like walls of a crate...
she was a hilarious pup that always put a smile on her family's faces... my sister-in-law wrote us all an email today to let us know she's now gone... in the email she mentioned that they are still struggling to believe that they did the right thing... after only seven short years with her, they wanted more than anything to save her...
