I'm really, really sorry for your loss.
I've only lost one dog in my life, and it was about 4 years a go. She was a Rottweiler with the most kind spirit you've ever seen, but she had some bad genes, which caused her to have a hard life with severe hip dysplasia and finally a case of PRA (progressive retinal atrophy) which made her go blind. Finally, things got so hard for her at age 10 that I simply had to make the call to get her euthanized, because prolonging her pain would've only been selfish of me.
I still remember her barking gradually slowing down when the anesthesia started to kick in, and her licking my hand before falling asleep for the last time before the vet gave her the shot. It was really hard and I thought that I could never get another dog because replacing her seemed like something that would've diminished in some way the impact she had on my life.
But, luckily I was finally ready to give another fur-face a chance, and my Nova Scotia is now a year and 3 months old - and he's just as special in his own way than my Rotty was, but I still catch myself remembering her antics when I watch my current dog doing something similar she used to do. The difference is that now I'm able to remember her with a stronger sense of happiness than sadness and loss as it was before.
I truly am sorry for you, but life goes on (as cliche as it may sound) and I trust that your new friend will win over your broken heart and mend it eventually.
