I could title this post “Life is Like a Box of Chocolates - You Never Know What You’re Going to Get” or take a line from Garth Brooks’s song The Dance, “I’m glad I didn’t know the way it all would go…”

I’m paraphrasing, but she said, “(when your dog dies) what do you do with all this love that you have for them?” And she outstretched her arms, as if going to hug someone to illustrate the immense love she felt for her dog.

Whether this is your first holiday season without your beloved dog or not, getting through it without your four-legged friend by your side can be really difficult. Here are 5 keys to making it a bit easier to manage.

Shortly after I had to say goodbye to my sweet Sara, I began volunteering for a local rescue group. I wanted to take some time before getting another dog so that I could travel and also be emotionally prepared to welcome a new dog into my life. I highly recommend volunteering as a way to soothe your soul after losing a beloved pup.

And of course, this addiction is another one of the reasons losing a dog is so hard. Let me clarify and provide some suggestions for dealing with the pain of this loss.

On April 22nd of this year (2016), I said goodbye to my SuperGirl, sweet Sara, SaraBoBara.  Sara was believed to be 14.5 yrs old, a beautiful, docile Shepherd mix I had gotten just two short years earlier; it was a week short of our 2 yr anniversary together in fact.

1. Mourn. You’ll grieve without giving it any thought, but mourning is putting action to your grief. Have a funeral. Plan a memorial. Journal. Make a collage. Write a poem. Create an altar of love dedicated to your dog. Do something to express your feelings and honor your sweet dog.

There are many reasons, that for some, losing a dog can be more difficult than losing a human family member or friend.

Why did this have to happen? Why did my dog get sick? Why did my dog have to die? Why couldn't anything be done? Why now? Why me? Why my dog?

My dog Ace died naturally, with me by his side, after he beautifully and lovingly said goodbye.  And I am so grateful that it happened that way.

Ace's and my story is truly a tale of love, destiny, good fortune and fate. The full story can be read in my upcoming book, Ace: Extraordinary Life, Extraordinary Death, but here are some highlights, so you can get a sense of my love for this dog and the relationship we shared.

For many people, I believe most people, when they think of their dog dying, they anticipate that there will come a time when they'll be faced with the decision of when to euthanize. It seems to be a given and is highly accepted as such.

Getting another dog after a deeply loved companion has died is a very personal decision; there simply is no one answer for everybody.

While I had believed in an afterlife for some time, it was still an esoteric concept, hard to wrap the brain around, simply because we just can't know with the same kind of certainty that we know so many other things.

Right now, the pain of losing your dog may seem unbearable. When faced with such a great loss, it's not unusual to find yourself crying uncontrollably, losing sleep, isolating yourself from others, feeling alone, and perhaps losing or gaining weight.