On a beautiful sunny summer day at Yee-Haw Brewing in Nashville, the pooches were out in full force.
Donned in tiny cowboy hats, bandanas, and other smile-inducing attire, owners showed up with their pup companions for a special event put on by Canidae Pet Food in collaboration with country singer-songwriter Walker Hayes.
Introducing their new line of dog food, Heartland — which focuses on farm-raised nutrition and delivers a small portion of proceeds to the American Red Cross — the company teamed up with Hayes who wrote a canine anthem for National Dog Day, which was August 26th.
“Love is a Four-Legged Word” is a playful, cheeky little folk song displaying the simple yet deeply heartfelt relationship between human and dog. There’s a reason the phrase “man’s best friend” exists, and this track embodies that notion.
Atop the pop-up stage at Yee-Haw, Hayes performed several songs — including his hit song “Fancy Like” among others — with interesting behind-the-scenes stories of said tracks, of course including “Love is a Four-Legged Word.” With toys scattered around and little pools for them to cool off in, the audience of playful pups and their respective humans alike were having a ball.
Hayes has been working on an animated show based on his relationship with his late dog Skeeter (to whom is mentioned in the song), among other multi-media projects. The concept of the show revolves around Skeeter singing and meeting friends, while he processes the dog’s life through song.
“Skeeter was my favorite dog that I’ve had,” Hayes told us inside the brewery. “I’ve had many dogs, and this bloodhound was somewhat of a problem dog. My wife didn’t love him, but I loved him. He would not listen, only to his nose. He was also a bad drooler. But he was full of personality, loyal, and he was just my buddy.”
As is the case for many pet owners, Skeeter was in Hayes’ life at pivotal times in his coming of age, most notably through his college years, and shortly thereafter when he proposed to his now wife. “I remember sitting in bed with Skeeter and the engagement ring, just staring at it, being like ‘hey Skeet, we’re gettin’ married man,” Hayes said with a laugh.
In regards to how Hayes and Canidae’s partnership came to be, well that spawned from a playful social media post with his daughter. “I just put a version of me and my daughter singing [the new song] live on Instagram, just messing with the first verse, and they loved it,” Hayes told us. After a few lyric changes here and there, “Love is a Four-Legged Word” was ready for the masses.
For now, Hayes is taking a backseat to touring while he focuses on his animated show, writing new songs, and of course spending quality time with his beloved dogs and family.
