Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
We still have two dogs left, but our "herd" is getting smaller, and it breaks my heart when we have to lose one. When we lost Max, the golden just whined and whimpered for a week (so we adopted a 6 year old lab to keep him company). Now that Cookie is gone, it's just the two of them, and although they haven't always gotten along since the adoption last fall, I hope they can be best buds now.

That's a great idea, Roxy! We had a private cremation for Max and buried her ashes under a tree in the backyard. We buried her dog collar/tags and her ball with her. I will do the same for Cookie. I haven't cried today- I think all the tears are gone I cried so much yesterday. I feel guilty that I'm almost as upset over the death of my dogs as I was over the death of my father- like I shouldn't care as much for an animal as I did for my own father whom I loved very much. I think when it's your pet and you love it and care for it every day for 13 years it feels (and is) like family.

Thank you again for your kind words. I didn't want to start a new thread, but you all provided me with much comfort/support when I lost Max, I kinda needed that again, ya know? Thank you!!!