Ya its like losing a family member, its sad. My last dog was a pitbull. He was raised with kindness and was a very gentle dog. I socialized him with other animals and lots of people so he was entirely different than what people think of a pitbull, all the neighborhood kids loved him. He died after 14 years, a sad day.
Theres a movie out now called "Hachi", about a man and his dog. Its a very sad tale, but worth watching.