I do treasure every day with mine - even though he does drive me crazy from time to time. So sorry for your loss.
You know, it’s really funny, but in the final year of Baron’s life (he lived to be almost 11 years old), I sometimes used to reach over in the middle of the night just to hug him to my side because, though he wasn’t sick in the slightest, I sensed that one day soon, I would no longer have that sheer joy.
They are very special companions. Those who have never owned one would quite naturally have difficulty understanding.