I know it's very hard to lose a dog. It is totally devestating. However, my philosphy is that there are so many greys who need a home that it would be selfish on my part not to get one as soon as I could. We have lots of love in our house, and we need to share it. However, I have never felt that we replaced a dog. All of my dogs have been irreplaceable. We just got another dog to love.