I remember when I lost my sweet little pug dog Kinky, what I did was this-
there was a certain corner where her little doggie basket/bed always was. A few days after she died I gave the dog bed to the humane society (they really can use it!) but then that corner looked so sadly empty. I took a little red felt tip pen and made a tiny 1/4 inch red heart on the wall way down there where her basket had been. Funny, but it cheered me to see the tiny little heart on the wall in "Kinky's corner" whenever I passed it. It made that empty corner more positive and sweet, rather than so sad.