How did you deal with the death of your first dog?

So today the dog I first owned (A White German Shepherd) and got from a shelter died, unfortunately he was very old when I did get him. Now I am left with an Alaskan Malamute. I am kinda sad as a grown man because the dog was my first dog and his short time with us he meant so much to us. Well, now I am planning on deciding on my next breed, maybe Husky or a young German Shepherd. So what is your story?

TL;DR - adopt a new dog from a shelter instead.

I lost Poco (a morkie) almost a year ago. He was my first dog that I had raised on my own and he meant so much to me. Unfortunately, he was a small dog, only 9 pounds, and he slipped past our feet one night when we were coming home. We tried, tirelessly, for a good 15 minutes to get him back into the house. I was standing only a few feet away from him when he was hit and killed. The driver never stopped, barely hitting his brakes. I have yet to deal with his death. It has been almost a year and I still cry if I think about it too much. Not only am I suffering from his death, but witnessing it so close has really traumatized me. I cannot imagine getting another dog right now. I'm not in the right place mentally and I know alot of people would say this is crazy, but I think that it's okay to take your time dealing with the loss of a pet. I loved him like I love my family and I will miss him dearly forever. I wish you hugs and peace to get through this time and if you plan on getting another dog, I wish you luck in finding the right one that fits you and will give you years of happiness.

It was my second dog that died first. But you grieve, and then you move on. The death of each dog is going to hurt no matter what for a while. But that's life.Edit: Mexit, the driver likely didn't realize he hit the dog. I saw that the puppy was 8 months old, had separation anxiety issues. It would be best to learn from this and keep a dog with such issues crated when he can't be supervised. But we all make mistakes. The key is to learn from them.

I've been around animals all my life and my first dog was handled by my parents when I was away in college. Now the first dog I ever had to take to the vet for its final journey, that's another story. She was 16 years old and the only "child" of our 14 year marriage. Makes me cry to this day, but I wouldn't have it any other way, I was so blessed by having her in my life. Now I'm around a lot of animals. Dogs, cats, chickens, bunnies, turkeys, and there are a lot of animals that come and go in my life, whether it's helping them find their forever homes, or helping them compassionately until they cross over, or just being there at the right moment when they need someone. One thing I can say for absolute certain, is that the time that they spend with us, whether short or long, is for a purpose. There is something that both of you learn from the relationship, something that enriches your soul, and when that has been fulfilled, the soul moves on. Perhaps his side of the story is "I was older, all alone, and without much hope for a future. After all, who wants an older dog? And then this kind man came along and I had a family again. I knew love again, and hope was restored. I'm so happy to have been with them."Another will enter your life. You might be attracted to certain breeds, but you'll know when you run across the right fit for you. You'll be drawn to it and you'll feel it in your soul. And cherish each precious gem for the time you have together and how you enrich each other's lives

My first and only dog so far to die was Jess. She was a gorgeous blue merle border collie. She was a herding dog and helped on the farm ALL her life. She was very old 17 years (which is ancient esp. for a working dog). I grew up with her. Although towards the end of her life i knew she was getting ill as she found it hard to walk and got arthritis. She also had a few strokes. We decided to put her down 1 year and a half ago on 14 th February (i remember the date because it was valentines day). Putting her down was the kindest thing to do,as much as we loved her we didn't want her to suffer for our greediness of wanting to keep her alive. She's buried in our garden, you greave and move on. We have 4 other dogs to love. And unfortunately that's just life:(