Loss of a Pet

We did lose a pet, 4 years ago. It was very hard for us, but even more so for our youngest son. I checked out the pet loss websites, but, to be honest, I really didn't see anything that was any different from what we already know. I DO disagree with the ASPCA website, of getting a "replacement" pet a month later. These are members of our family, and there is no replacement for them. We waited 3 years, and then I made sure to not get another cat, as I didn't want it to even seem like we were replacing her. She was a wonderful friend, and kooky enough that even my husband, who hates cats, loved her. My son still writes essays about her, whenever he has to write something serious for school. We try to remember her, whenever we can, as a way of respecting her memory. We even have a special Christmas ornament, that she always played with, that goes on the tree last, down at the bottom, where she'd whack it around. My son hangs it in his room the rest of the year. It's just like losing a person. All the information in the world doesn't help, you have to go through the grieving process and no amounts of information is really going to help that.