Sorry to hear about your loss. In 1998 we had to put our 12 year old poodle to sleep, it was tough in the vet's office watching him go. Three years ago we had a mini-schnauzer who was almost 10, who came in from outside, had a seizure and died right in our living room. Yes, these dogs are family and we get almost as attached to them as we do our kids, and their loss is always terrible, but there' always a new one to come along and fill the gap (although never really replaced).