I'd first like to start out by thanking everyone who helped me through those dark days when I lost my little Daisy. It was so hard to say goodbye to her, although I knew I had to do what was fair to my little girl. She was sick and in pain and needed me then, more than ever - She really had been an anchor through a terribly difficult time for me, and I know that I easily depended on her as much as she did me.

After we had Daisy euthanisized, my daughter and I cried buckets for weeks. I heard ghost barks, I could hear her breathing in the still of the night...we were bereft and missed her so much. The house felt like a vacuum, as though the life had been sucked out of it. And I missed it. I missed having that unconditional love, and having the chance to love a little creature unconditionally, too. I thought of Daisy, and all those who had gone before her..Pucci, our beloved Buddy, Barney, Frodo, Tiggy, Bilbo and Ham, Duncan, Tippy...cats, dogs, guinea pigs...and realized that I had lived almost all of my years on this earth loving and caring for another of this world's creatures. After a while, when the first edge of sorrow had dulled, I realized that this group of us, we who understand how much a pet can bring to our lives, also have a chance to bring that level of comfort and commitment and care and love to yet another. I had vowed I would never bring such sorrow to myself again, since it's likely we will outlive our fur babies and the loss of them is so profound...but I began to think that maybe I was being unfair, just cocooning myself against the feeling of loss in the end, instead of the joy of the years that preceed it and what sort of difference I might make to a little life. I know it's hard at first, but there's just so many little souls out there who need a safe haven.

And so I started looking and eventually found a rescue shih tzu that we named Henry. He is a little firecracker, and although small, rules his new-found kingdom with charm and personality. He has made us laugh again, and we spoil and coddle and love him nearly as much as he deserves.

He doesn't replace Daisy, but he's not expected to. You can't replace those who you love, but your heart can swell and let someone else in. I started out here as daisysmum and will continue that way, because I still am. I loved my little girl, and it broke my heart to see her go. But now I'm Henry's mum too, and I hope for many years of being so. Thank you all once again for all the heartfelt words;