Have You Ever Lost A Pet?

I've lost a dog once, he was an elderly chihuahua, we had been living in our new house in town for around 6 months and then he was gone, we never saw him again. We guessed that he must have either been taken or he wandered off. We called the local pound and shelters but had no luck, I've always hoped he was taken in by a kind family if he wandered off. someone said he might have gone away to die in private but I hope that was not the case. It makes me sad to think like that