I use the "ostrich theory" about my cat's inevitable death - I refuse to think about it! I said the exact same thing when my girl kitty Leticia Ratt died - I'm not getting any more cats, there could never be a replacement for her, etc. And fate stepped in and gave me a wonderful companion anyway, and I'm grateful every single day. I don't think about my inevitable death either, or that of my loved ones - nothing I can do about how and when it happens, so I just enjoy being alive while I am. I always feel so useless when a pet here dies, and I don't even know what to say when something so awful happens. (I'm just as bad at human funerals; totally at a loss for words.) I agree though, that "non PT-ers" don't understand or appreciate a lot of the things we do, so I'm glad I have this forum to come to and share with such a great, diverse, multi-national bunch.