lost my 1.5-year-old dachshund and don’t know what to do next

I lost my 1.5-year-old mini long-haired dachshund, Franklin (Frankie), very suddenly after a foreign body surgery, and I’m honestly struggling a lot with it.

My wife and I really built our lives around him. He was our baby. We loved spoiling him in every way we could, and so much of our daily routine revolved around taking care of him and coming home to him. We both have pretty stressful careers, and he was always the thing that grounded us at the end of the day.

We used to joke all the time about what we would do without him.

Now that time is here, and it doesn’t feel real.

In just a year and a half, we did so much life with him. We took him out in the snow, took him to the beach, brought him to a hotel where he even peed in the bed, and took him to a national park. He was always with us, always part of everything.

Everything happened so fast. What was expected to be a routine recovery turned into a rapid decline overnight, and despite aggressive treatment and CPR, he passed.

The house feels empty. Our routine feels empty. Coming home feels different in a way I wasn’t prepared for.

I keep feeling this urge that I just want something to take care of again. Not to replace him, because I know that’s not possible, but because we’re so used to having him there and pouring into him.

I don’t know what the right move is.

Part of me wants to go back to the same breeder and get another dachshund, maybe even one related to him, like a sibling, because it feels like a way to stay connected to him.

Another part of me wonders if we should rescue instead, or if we should wait longer and not rush into anything while we’re still grieving like this.

I guess I’m just looking for advice from people who have been through this.

- Did getting another dog help you, or did it make things harder?

- Did you wait, or did you follow that feeling of wanting something to care for again?

- If you got the same breed again, did it bring comfort or make the loss feel more present?

We just feel really lost right now and don’t want to make a decision for the wrong reasons.

Any advice or experiences would mean a lot.