@oldernow @babel @shalil
I just want to say thank you for your kind words. I'm finally at a point where looking at my profile picture doesn't bring tears to my eyes, so that's a start. I'm just grateful that my little old man cared enough that he wanted to say goodbye, and that he didn't want me to see him go. I took him to the vet that day for cremation, his ashes will be returned to me at some point.
That was so much harder than I expected. And that's because I knew it was going to be devastating. Truthfully, it's the first time I've experienced a loss like that. I've had a grandparent and relatives pass, but realistically, I wasn't close enough to them for it to hit very hard. But Pilz-e... I had him for almost his entire life, with the exception of his first two months. His birthday happened somewhere in July, so he was with me for a full 16 years. We went through a lot together, he was always with me.
I'm gonna stop there, because I can feel the tears forming again thinking about it. Again, thank you.