Bearbait, sorry to hear the sad news. Be at peace knowing you did everything possible during your pals entire lifetime. That's an honor.
Thinking about what Skeets said, I would never let the passing of a pet stop me from finding another one.
Every one we've ever had are what I call "throw aways". People dumped them out, or let them run all over the country side and we'd offer to take them if they didn't want them. There's always more out there needing the same attention as the one that just left us.
Pets are great for our personalities. Forces us to be responsible, think in a timely fashion, forces us to communicate, teaches us about life and habits, bring joy with out medicine! What else does that?