Just a little personal thread...

[Kalyx]

I'm sorry to hear about your close friend, Ray...my condolences and sympathies go out to you. v.v

I also had a long time pet/friend which I basically grew up with. He was a black German Shephard, with white chest and patches of tan on his paws and muzzle. His name was Max. Our family got him when I was 2 and he lived for a long 13 years.

But when he passed away, I was devastated. My mother and I found him "sleeping" on the tile floor of the front door foyer, one day after school. His head resting on the carpeted floor, like he always did...except that his tongue was sticking out of his mouth, drooping to the side. My mother started crying and really couldn't deal with it. And since my Dad wasn't home yet, I carefully lifted him up off the floor and carried him out to the garage and rested him on a moving blanket, and covered him up.

Later on, we buried him in a pet cemetery, which I try to visit at least once a year. It just gets me worked up, still, because I basically grew up with him and took care of him, more than the rest of my family ever did.

I still miss him terribly.