Lost my little buddy today

Very sorry to hear this. Our critters become part of us, and it's a terrible thing when we have to say goodbye. I just did this with Maggie, my shelter dog of 14 years - she just ran out of gas. One bright spot though, is I've had several times where I swear part of a previous pet's spirit circles around to arrive again. I just had a 5-week old kitten choose me as its person, and there are a lot of similarities in Yoda (the kitten) and Maggie. I had no intention of getting another critter but here he is and here he will stay.