Being older, I have lost several animals. Two of the most notable/memorable and most missed are:
German Shepherd, daughter of the first shepherd that my family had. She was a beautiful, BIG DAWG and weighed in at over 110lbs and not fat. Stretched out, she could stand on her hind legs, paws on your shoulder and you would be face level to her if you were 6′ tall. Most female shepherds are around 60lbs. I used to hike the canyons near JPL with her when I was younger. I wish I could have taken her to college with me. I think she would have been happier.
A parakeet who was a friendly joker. He really loved apple slices and I got him to nearly fall off the perch by presenting a slice a little farther out than he could easily reach. He would also watch any object closely, that he never saw before (giving it the one-eye stare). If I didn’t wake up in time, and the door to the bedroom was open, he would fly in and perch on the top the door and chirp (almost like a smoke detector with the battery going down).