Zoe came into my life two weeks after she was born. Her mother was run over by a car, and my former father in law was going to put the litter in a burlap sack and drown them.
We (my now ex-wife) took the pups and nursed them with goats milk. When Zoe's eyes opened it was when I was nursing her, and she imprinted on me as "mother".
In the nearly 15 years she was alive we never spent a day apart. She never socialized well with other dogs, as she was always only around humans as a pup. Oh and a cat. She always tried to be friendly with cats, but they would not be cool with her.
She took ill a few weeks before her 15th birthday, and died a week or so before it.
That was about 7 years ago.
I still miss her.
I know the feeling
Animals make the best company