This turned into an essay...sorry! 
Operation DS, as it's affectionately known in our house to keep 16 year old DD from guessing anything is amiss. Operation DS or 'Dottie Scogg' comes into fruition on 21st December and DH and I are VERY excited.
We had 2 dogs, a beautiful Scottie named Jack and an adorable Westie called Bob. 2 years ago we lost Jack, then aged just 9, to liver disease and DH and I were devastated. Anyone who has owned a Scottie dog will know what a huge presence they are in a home and even though Bob was left we all felt his loss.
For a while we considered a new puppy, but Bob was getting older and we didn't think it was fair on him so we held off. Over the last 2 years Bob became arthritic, had a heart murmur and emphysema. Our last vets visit a few months ago she thought he probably had a cancer somewhere, but at nearly 14 we didn't want to stress him or put him through any undue procedures so we made him comfortable and enjoyed our time with him. He'd seemed so well the morning we lost him, almost like a pup again in the morning, bounding around the house. By lunch time he was being sick and by the following day he had pneumonia and could barely breathe. An x-ray revealed he had tumors all over his liver and despite all our hopes he wouldn't recover. We made the horrible decision to let him go.
For two weeks our home and hearts have been so empty. Not a day has gone by when I haven't expected him to jump on the sofa with me or be there when I wake up. It's just him and me in the day so I think I've felt it more. DD has been so lost, she grew up with Bob and they were close but she also said the house didn't feel right and could we please have another dog. I initially said no.
I gave it thought, talked it over with DH and we decided we could have a dog. With that we researched some breeders and finally found just one scottie boy through the kennel club 120 miles away. Under the guise of going 'christmas shopping' we left DD at the weekend and went to see him. Of course we fell in love, Mum and Dad had the same temperament as Jack (and looked a lot like him as well!) so we left a deposit on him.
I've been secretly puppy proofing the house in the day whilst DD is at school. On collection day we shall tell DD we are off to a collectors shop she read about in a town near to the breeder, she'll want to come and then when we pull up at the breeders she will realise why we are there. I suspect she will burst into tears.
We all miss Bob so very much and I think it's testament to how much he and Jack changed our lives that we can't seem to live in a house without them. 2 weeks doesn't seem long and I imagine some people will raise eyebrows, but 2 weeks with no wagging tail, no woof of greeting and no sofa snuggles has been horrible.