Thanks guys. Like Dablitzer and Alpha have said, we love our pets a lot. We have owned everything from mice, rats, gerbils, rabbits, and at one time a cockatoo (Goffins) and although very different pets, they all brought us joy.
I was a total basket case when our previous dog passed, and I will be again with this one. Our last dog was a Lhasa Apso, who we adopted at 1 year old as he was going to be put down by his owners, and the vet asked us if we would adopt him, and we did. We were able to give him another 15 years of life, and we had to put him down just after his 16th birthday. He was such a different dog to Raven, our Whippet pictured above. He was very stubborn, loved car rides (Raven hates being in the car) and we took him everywhere with us:
And he always knew when you were getting a snack...
Seamonster - sorry you feel that way about getting another pet. Although it's very difficult when you lose a friend, I would not give up what they give us while they are our companions.
We adopted Raven at 3 years old, after she had become a champion show dog. She lived in a kennel, and yes now we spoil her, but she worked hard those first few years of her life, so she deserves it. I know she won't be with us for as long as our other dog was, but it is still worth it to us.
Cheers, Al