Can't imagine what it's like to lose a pet dog, having only had pets that fit in an aquarium or cage. The last pet I had was a Peking Robin who lived for over 15 yrs, which wasn't too bad considering most of them die at around 5 yrs, but it was heartbreaking to see him go.
Usually, as a wee lad, I used to catch my own pets and bring them home proudly to show my mother..."this snake here is a red bellied snake and these 4 are garter snakes" or I'd catch some turtles(painted and snapping) and bring them home. She was a good sport actually, as long as they were kept in an aquarium on the porch she was OK with it. Usually after a week or two we'd let them go then try and catch something else.
Ok....I know this thread is for the dogs...carry on...
