Miranda Lambert Mourns the Death of Her Dog Waylon: ‘He Lived His Life With No Fences’

Miranda Lambert has lost a member of her family, sharing on Instagram on Thursday that her dog Waylon has died. The singer posted a slideshow of photos of Waylon over the years including shots of his time as a puppy and more recent photos, writing that she lost one of her “best friends.”

In her caption, Lambert shared that she found Waylon and his sister Jessie on the side of the road in Oklahoma in January 2008. “They were abandoned, starving and freezing nearly to death,” she wrote. “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.”

The Texas native wrote that the vet said Waylon “probably wouldn’t make it but he did.” “For almost 13 years,” her message continued. “He was a rock in our family and always held down the fort. He lived his life with no fences. The way we all want to live. He was a farm dog through and through and retired to Nashville life riding on the bus with mama to go home to Texas for Christmas every year. 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.”

Lambert shared that she was “so glad” her husband Brendan McLoughlin was able to get to know Waylon “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,” she wrote. “Dogs change your life. The bond is something that can’t be described unless you have lived it.”

She also thanked three of her friends for “being his other moms and dad and taking such care of him when I was gone” as well as the teams at local animal care facilities for “giving us such amazing treatment and a few more years together.” She concluded: “Hug your pups today y’all.”

The “Settling Down” singer received plenty of supportive comments from as well as her friend and fellow dog mom Carrie Underwood, who wrote, “…sending lots of love and hugs.”