Losing a dog can mean losing more than their presence. After years of feeding them, worrying about them and building your days around their needs, the role of being their Mum or Dad can become part of who you are. So what happens to that part of you when they are gone?

Are they warm enough? Are they safe? If you still catch yourself asking, you are not alone. Your heart spent years keeping them safe, and it has not stood down yet.

We don't only lose our dog. We lose the only witness to the life we lived together. Why this grief reaches so far into who we are.

A calm, clear way to think about it.

You are replaying it. The car journey. The waiting room. The moment it happened. And somewhere in the loop, a thought that will not leave: did I do it too soon?