I agree that animals are an important part of our lives, our families. We had dogs for many years, but when our son was deployed to Iraq, we ended up with four cats, and then added three of our own for different reasons. Living with seven cats was wonderful; they were indeed a diversion from my mental health problems, but I will say they were a pain as far as keeping the house clean. The amount of fur seven cats put out is mind-boggling. There was always enough hair to knit a cat! But, the cats served to give us a purpose and a schedule. I would not have believed it not ever having a cat before, that cats have very strong and differing personalities just like people, and they choose the person they want to belong to. We had great fun with them. We have a small house, so finding separate places to feed everyone was difficult, but we did it: one in the two bedrooms, one in the two bathrooms, one in the kitchen, one in the living room, and one in the laundry room. And as they aged and needed to have quiet time away from the other cats, one of the bedrooms became the "hospital" ward. We have two cats remaining, two toms, Baby and Mo. Baby is 13 and Mo only 2. They are an absolute hoot. I will never be able to go to the bathroom alone again; Mo follows me in - sometimes leads the way - and throws himself down on the bathroom rug and goes through shenanigans you wouldn't believe, and the more I talk to him, the more he carries on. He is a real joy in this time of pandemic and rioting. Oh, I forgot to say that when our son deployed to Iraq, so did his wife, and we took on the job of raising their 6-month-old baby, Kai, for two years. A little harder taking care of a baby when you are 20 than when you are 50. But we loved every minute of it; it will be one of our stick-out memories. Of course, when they came home (safe, we thanked God) we were so sad to have Kai go home with them. Happy but sad. We missed him terribly. He's 17 now, a fine, healthy boy who wants to follow in his father's footsteps. Our son was an officer in the army first with a tank platoon and then with a sniper platoon. Our grandson wants to be Special Forces. I have always wondered why they couldn't be accountants! Well, I am so sorry to hear about your loss, but so glad you have another "friend." Dogs are the very best kind. Be safe.