Thank you for that Azz. There is a poignant scene in one of the Matrix movies when Keanu Reeves' character replies to a program who has said he "loves his daughter very much", who is also a program, with "but love is a human emotion". The program replies "No, it is a word. What matters is the connection that is implied". Doesn't matter if its a mouse or a dog or child, the implied connection to that other life is as real as any other. I lost one of my dogs last November, me my wife and my son were devastated. The pain I felt was no different than when I lost both my parents a year apart. I don't grieve the same way I have seen others grieve, I go through it extremely quickly. I live my life avoiding guilt and regret, I say what needs to be said at the time regardless of my pride or emotional state, because I know that being left with the knowledge that you could have said or done something but didn't, will be with you until your dying day. Life is too short for all of us, more so for our pets who are with us for a blink of an eye, but who shape our lives for the better.
