Bayla came to us when she was about a year old from the daughter of a coworker of my husband's, as an unruly, overgrown monster of a toddler.
In her previous home, she was with first time dog owner, completely inexperienced and overwhelmed, in a small apartment, kept mostly in a crate as she was, due to lack of training, destructive and a little unpredictable. I'll be the first to admit, Bayla and I were absolutely not off to the best start due to all of this. She was determined to chase everything from our chickens to our 5 year old. It was a rough start, and tons of stubborn stand offs, but eventually she had her 180 transformation to one of the most amazing dogs we've ever had!
I think if there's one way to sum up Bay's legacy she's left behind it's that whenever all the kids went out to play, Bay was always along. Trailing behind, completely forgotten about by the group of kids at times, just laying off to the side as they're climbing trees, playing hide and seek, or circling the perimeter of the flooded field, sniffing the things, while the kids hunted tadpoles.
All the other moms, whose kids were in the group, always told me how much it put their minds at ease to know Bayla was back there too. Even though we all knew we had each other's kids in sight, they also had this 130lbs Great Dane-Mastiff with them, that wouldn't let anyone she didn't know come near.
Whether it was the kids on the street, a random campground, or through 4H, Bayla was always all about the kids. We've had a few kids shift from "I'm scared of that big dog!" to "I don't want to quit cuddling this big dog!". Somewhere along the line she became the perfect ambassador for Giant Breed Dogs. She was always down for every hike, she loved to hop into the canoe, or onto the paddle board, well mannered and with the best disposition, not to mention her stunning looks, she always put her best paw forward and left nothing but the best impression behind, touched so many lives, and as a result, was loved, and will be deeply missed, by many, many souls!
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