Loss of a pet is much akin to losing any other member of the family. I knew his expected time is much shorter than mine and I tried to make myself to be prepared for that eventuality but there's no way to bolster feelings when I see the empty place where his water dish and food bowl used to be.
He was my friend, my buddy and my cofidant. Move on - get another? But no, there's nobody that can replace that bond that we shared and furthermore it would be disrespectful of me to consider it. Do dogs go to Heaven? They say not - that they don't possess a soul - but I find that hard to believe. I read one fellow's comment;
"If there aren't any dogs in Heaven, then I don't want to go there either." Maybe he has a point.
We came from different backgrounds and we had different abilities and different attributes - but we both shared a communication as was expressed in a touch, a glance or a murmur. As different as we were, we shared a common experience as we were each entities who each shared that spark of life that was undeniable. He was my friend. My heart cries out.