[middleofnowhere]

For me, The pain of their death is intense but it is exceeded by far by the joy of their life. My youngest at 10 is a cancer patient, my eldest at 13 has a bad back and a heart condition. I look at them and smile and laugh mostly. I look at them and I remember good times & how they made me laugh -- dog stories. I look at them and I remember dogs past. I remember their deaths, I remember much more their lifes.

When to get another has varied from dog to dog.