It's hard to lose a beloved pet, especially one you've had for such a long time. It's even older than I am and I'm nearly 26 so having lost something apart of your life for so long must be unbearable. I've never cried over a lost pet but it did hit me kind of hard when I lost my albino channel cat a few years ago to sick goldfish in the pond. That's peanuts compared to this though an inkling of how it must be.