The loss is as particular and profound as the intimacy, and the depth of mourning it sets off can shock people, for we’re often not fully aware of how many voids the dog has filled until he’s no longer there, no longer filling those spaces in his able, silent way.

The one imperfect aspect of this near-perfect relationship, our bond with dogs, is its lack of longevity. They live such brief lives, and if there’s one thing that intensifies the sense of loss we experience when they die, it’s the fact that our grief tends to be pathologized, considered excessive and misdirected, even silly.

I look at her and sometimes I have to clench my teeth to keep from grabbing her and squishing her, she so delights me.