Sorry to read this.
I went through the exact same thing just two months ago with our 11 year old Shih Tzu Ratchet and it is still fresh in my mind.
What I figured out is that there is never a good,right or better time to lose or let something go you really wish you could have forever. I wish I could say there was.
Now two months removed from it it still hurts but I find myself much more able to focus on the 11 years we spent together and less on the final day.
We did get another Shih Tzu just a couple weeks ago and it hasn’t been viewed or treated as a “replacement “for Ratchet but it has definitely helped fill that void.

Long live the memory of Gizmo.
17 excellent years!He did so well.
That is a lot of good memories.
I know there are tears today and many more to come in the days ahead but you have handled it the best way possible and I promise it will get better.Today was the hardest part .Seeing it coming might have made it even tougher but I am sure you gave all the love possible knowing that. My deepest condolences to you and your family.