Thank you!
The shock is finally starting to wear off... but not the ache of his absence.
"Just a dog" -
I believe in the Velveteen Rabbit principle. If toys who are loved enough become immortal, so do our beloved animal friends. :)
Or, as the Natives and other "primitives" have believed all along, we all have souls.
Even the octopus is sentient, and apparently smarter than cats and dogs.