Walker Hayes and his family are grieving a painful loss. The country singer turned to social media on Thursday to tell fans that the family’s dog, Hazel, got hit by a car, and unfortunately, the adorable pooch didn’t make it.

The “Fancy Like” singer wrote that his family is “so sad” after getting the news, but he’s also “so grateful the young man who hit her had the courage to knock on our door and let us know. Despite the circumstances I was blown away by his kindness.”

Noting that their street is “not that busy” and they had become “much too comfortable” letting their dogs run with no leashes, he writes, “It is more our fault than his.”

Hayes and his wife, Laney, have six children, and they lost their seventh child, daughter Oakleigh, in 2018 after complications during her birth. He says Hazel was a “coping mechanism” they got after that.

“We knew we couldn’t replace what we had lost but Hazel was something to hold,” he writes. “Something to wake up with in the middle of the night, etc. I know…maybe not the healthiest answer to grief but we sure fell in love with her.”

She was an introverted dog who loved her family and got along with their other dogs, but didn’t care for outsiders, he says, adding that it was hard for them to bury her.

“Losing a dog physically hurts. And watching the family hurt is such a hopeless feeling,” Hayes states. “But we buried Hazel together. We cried and laughed talking about her … We told stories and everything else disappeared for the afternoon. We prayed. Then we jumped in the lake. In a weird way we immediately all began healing together. Around the fragility of life. It was sad, but sweet. It was something we all won’t forget…like Hazel.”

Sterling Whitaker is a Senior Writer and Senior Editor for Taste of Country. He focuses on celebrity real estate, as well as coverage of Yellowstone and related shows like 1883 and 1923. He’s interviewed cast members including Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Sam Elliott and Harrison Ford, and Whitaker is also known for his in-depth interviews with country legends including Don Henley, Rodney Crowell, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs and more.