Sorry for your loss, I know it cuts deep, as it did when I lost my best mate Rufus a golden lab. I lived without a dog for six months and could not stand coming home to an empty house, so I did the next best thing to not having Rufus around any more and took a dog on from the Labrador rescue. Jeeves is his name and is also a black lab like your old mate. Got him when he was seven, a retired gun dog, now he is 10, so I think I will just give him the best years of retirement I can, he still loves to fetch like a dog possessed, but if it makes him happy I will through the ball.