Reference:
Now my Mum aint well its too late for her to enjoy another
Renton... my mum was the same, when we lost our childhood cairn. She'd got him the day she finished work, 7 months pregnant with me.... we lost him 16 years later... and it devastated my mum. She couldn't face it again either.
Twas only when 20 odd years later, I found myself taking a career break, and in a position to get a puppy that she took the plunge and came to the breeders with us, and they got a puppy.
She now knows she shouldn't have thought she couldn't face it... she'd forgotten the joy & companionship having a dog brought.
Getting another dog breathed a new lease of life into both my parents, they looked ten years younger... still do!