Sorry to hear of your loss. It is very difficult. My dog ran away June 10, 2004 and I think of him multiple times throughout the day.
One day this past summer, I went for my walk, and a starving black lab/rottwieller mix followed me home. Awesome dog, we think someone's duck hunting dog because of all the commands he knows. He now weighs almost 100 lbs, all muscle. I wanted so badly to keep him, but we had just gotten a new Golden Retriever puppy (is there hope she'll ever stop chewing???? ) for our 12 y.o. in the past year, and still have our elderly golden. My son and his wife , who lived next door, took the lab.
He adores their children and watches them like a hawk, let's my daughter-in-law know if he's anxious about something they're doing.
They moved to Texas the first part of November, and Jack (the lab) is staying with us until they are totally settled with a fence. Day before yesterday, he was sitting at the foot of my drive looking down the hill toward their house, howling. He really misses them.