Miranda Lambert said goodbye to one of her “best friends” on Thursday (10/22): her golden retriever, Waylon. She shared the news of the dog’s passing on Instagram alongside many photos of Waylon throughout the years. In the post, she told the story about how she rescued Waylon back in 2008.
“I found him and his sister on the side of the road in Oklahoma in January 2008,” she wrote. “They were abandoned, starving and freezing nearly to death. I was listening to Jessi Colter and Waylon Jennings at the time me and mom saw them and pulled over to pick them up. I took them straight to the vet and she told me that the little boy was not doing too well (malnourished and dehydrated ) because whatever they had found to eat while they were homeless, he always let her eat first. He did that nearly his whole life. She said he probably wouldn’t make it but he did. For almost 13 years.”
Waylon has shown up in many of Lambert’s photos and posts over the years, and she stressed his importance in the post. She also expressed thankfulness that her husband, Brendan, was able to meet Waylon before he passed.
“He was a rock in our family and always held down the fort,” she continued. “He lived his life with no fences. The way we all want to live,” she continued. “I’m so thankful for the time we had with him and I’m thankful for the rest of the time we have with his sister Jessi. I’m so glad my husband @brendanjmcloughlin got to know him in his final years. We are heartbroken but happy that he is running across the rainbow bridge right now and will be waiting for us when we get there.”
Waylon was part of Lambert’s big family of animals, which includes many dogs, at least two cats, and a horse or two.
