I am truly sorry for your loss. I know very well how hard it is to lose such a good friend.
The only thing that I can say is that the sorrow will subside as you remember all the good memories you will keep forever.
It's been just over a year since we had to put down our 14yr old best friend Nakite. (Na-kee-tay) My wife and I still comment to each other how much we miss 'Kita. He was the first and only dog our boys had every known.
He was about 3.5 mths when he was found dodging cars on the highway. Grew to be 55lb and would possible kill any man who touched/harmed any child. A grown woman would probably get away w/ sever bites. This dog NEVER harmed any child. He would not even show any aggression when the kids would reach into his food bowl when he was eating. He would simply move to the other side and try to eat a little faster. He had been used as a pillow, a foot rest and even a moving target when the boys would play w/ Nurf guns. He enjoyed every minute w/ the boys. The children could poke, pull, sit on, drag or anything else to this dog and he would not so much a snear. If I did the same thing as the kids, he would let me know that he didn't like it. His self-claimed job was to protect the children around him and he did it very well. All three of our children learned to walk while holding onto his fur. Even when his foot was broken and one of the children happened to step on his foot, he never bit a child.
Once you were introduced as a friend, he would never be aggressive toward you. After he was told "No!" just once, he would not even chase the boy's pet rabbit that ran around the back yard. He'd sure give the squirrels a run for their nuts.
I know this is not the type of dog for everyone. For our house, when the kids were smaller and I was traveling w/ work, this dog made my wife and I a whole lot happier and feel a little safer. I never worried where the kids were as long as 'Kita was w/ them.