I'm sorry about your loss but enjoyed your tribute to Shadow. And you're right, dogs will ultimately break your heart.
Shadow was beautiful. I'm glad he didn't have to suffer a long time.
We had to have our "little dogter (daughter)" put to sleep when she was almost 15 yrs. old.
Some say it's like losing one of the family. I say it IS losing one of the family. She is buried under a sycamore tree that she helped to plant four years before she died, and we have flowers planted on her grave.
Lost two beautiful Dobies in six months. Horrible. More broken up about these guys than I was when my mother died.
What a great gift he was to you and your family.