First of all, my condolences- I know it can be hard.... I had my dog die when I was away at college- he just wandered off and died of old age - a neighbor said he saw him staggering and looking disoriented...

Scamp was a VERY unique dog- he honestly seemed to understand the intent, but not the meaning, of human speach- it was clear that he really considered himself a human with special abilities....

We had several cars that had the right side of the front bumper torn up by Scamps teeth since he not onty chased cars, he caught them.

He looked like a cross between a greyhound and a german shepherd- and he LOVED to run...

He loved winter- because he could attack me and my brother without fear of hurting us (thick coats were our defense) - we would growl and attack him in play, and he would get the idea that it was just pretend, he would bite at our protected arms gently but act like he was trying to kill us... he loved it... but he would get nervous every few minutes and get very meek and offer his paw to shake (he was afraid the play was getting too real)- we would shake and the violence would continue- I can say that Scamp, in his entire life gave me one scratch by accident, and honestly seemed to feel bad about it.

to my knowledge he NEVER hurt a person or an animal on purpose... he did kill several chickens but only because he was playing with them very gently and the chickens died of exhaustion (his idea of 'fun with chickens' was chase them and bump them in the butt with his snout) he knew that killing was wrong, and never did it intentionally...

He had a Conscience, and you could talk to him like a person and he would get the meaning.....

He figured his duty was to protect me and my brother- i once played dead in the snow one winter... Scamp freaked out- he looked around for help and found none and proceeded to try to take care of me... he chewed the snow out of my mittens ... at that point I 'revived' and made sure he got a great meal... His concern was very obvious

I could write a book about that dog... he died while exploring our land, and his body wasnt found- maybe that is best....

Pets can impact a person and their attitudes - a small dog helped my grandfather live a few years more (stupidest dog you can imagine) that dog is still getting royal treatment many years after my grandfathers death...