Thank you. It's so hard and so painful...but it was all worth it absolutely. I truly appreciate the condolences.

I understand your pain. I am very sorry but now he is in a better place with no afflictions. He will patiently wait for you and greet you with a goofy smile and wagging tail when the time comes. He was a very handsome friend. Know you gave him the best possible life.

Thank you TG. I tried to, I really did. And I believe you're right.

A wonderful and beautiful tribute. I am very sorry for your loss.

Thank you. I appreciate the kind words.

It comes to me to find this page through chance and happenstance, and so much of it chimes so vividly with my own experience. My Mischa was a malamute. We lost him at eleven too, and to a stomach torsion as well: he was alone for two hours when it came on, and even that short time it became too advanced for the surgeon to save him. I loved him very, very much, my strange otherworldly goofball, and I'll miss him always.

It'd be fun to think he and Aleksey are playing somewhere, but actually I know that Mischa would drop by for a sniff and then go back to his overriding joy in life: to point his nose at the horizon and go travelling.

I'd like to see him again. Maybe we live in a world where that's possible and you can hug your Aleksey too.

Sorry to hear of your loss. :( It's hard...and it feels cruel that we're always doomed to outlive them. It took me two years before I could bring myself to adopt again, but I managed to find my way there. Niko has joined my family now. I still cry sometimes when I remember Aleksey. He was a wonderful partner in life and I'll always miss him. It still hurts, but the pain gets better. It's never completely gone, not if you loved with your whole heart...but it gets better. Now Niko brings a new love to my life, the dorky fluffball that he is. He hasn't and won't replace Aleksey in my heart, but he's definitely etched a place in it right next to my memories of Aleksey. I wish you the best and hope that your memories of Mischa help dull the pain of his absence... *hug*