Thank you, everyone, for your kind comments and condolences. I realize I'm not the only one that's ever gone through this, but I tend to be very sensitive and take things harder than the average person.

I've had a few days to calm down and reflect. I loved that animal so very much, and he had a very long and happy life and I will miss him so and it hurt me to have to euthanize him. But I do realize that I really had no other choice if I were going to spare him pain and suffering. Although he could still walk and was pretty spry for a 15 year old wolfdog, he had lost a lot of weight, he was incontinent, and had occasional tremors. I am thankful that he remained happy and mobile up to the very end. I believe he had suffered a stroke in October and probably occasional other minor ones, and that sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning, he had a fatal one. When I went out on Sunday, he wasn't moving, he was drooling, and his eyes would not focus and it was pretty clear to me that something major had happened and that he was in dire shape.

Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have a veterinarian who lives just down the road come down within a couple of hours and he was able to end Yukon's suffering. He was buried in the back yard along with a couple of toys and bones.

In all reality, he lived two or three years longer than most people predicted and I believe that he was quite happy and had a good life. I knew this was coming and have been trying to prepare myself for several years, but you're never fully prepared to lose someone you love dearly.

Thank you friends, for your sincere sympathy and care for my well being. You are the only reason I've been able to make it. The pain of loss is still there, but it has eased enough that I can get on with my life and I've finally made it through a whole day without crying.