My dog is such a lifesaver. He's of a breed they nickname 'velcro dogs', and he doesn't like to be more than about five feet from me at any time. He has been a real source of devotion and amusement to me in the last week and a half as I start this journey. Even today, with me sick and miserable, curled up under a blanket, he's just been happily snuggling, not even grousing about going for a walk.
I remember times when, drunk and melodramatic, alone at home, I would declare to him, 'If it weren't for you, I'd probably just jump off that balcony right now.' Now, I'm pretty sure that wasn't true, that I was just being tearful and over-sensitive and that even in my darkest moments I could have scraped up enough reasons to keep going even without him. But I'm sure glad I never actually had to find out.