Ray,

Your story touched me greatly. I lost my shih tzu of 8 years a few days ago. It was sudden and unexpected. He was not sick but when I got home from an appt he was clearly not himself. He died within a few hours.  I wish I had more time with him. He was my constant companion and very loyal to me. I feel like I got gypped in not having him around longer. I hope that if you receive this comment, please respond and if you can give me any pointers in how to cope from such a devastating loss, that will be most helpful.