My brother put his 18-year-old dog to sleep yesterday.
My sadness today is profound, almost overwhelming, and I am trying to figure out why.
Obviously, the dog himself, a terribly sweet, ridiculously cute cocker-beagle mix, is the primary reason. He was my brother's dog - there's no denying that - but he was really my first pet as well, my roommate and companion for the nine-plus years I lived with my brother after college.