A good pet is so much more - they're a buddy.
I accepted a neighbor's kitten I really didn't want,
out of pity. (I always had dogs as a kid)
Odd kitten. Would perch on my shoulder like a parrot.
Another neighbor's dog chased my kitten until he
ran up my backside and dug into my shoulder for
dear life, forever ending me allowing the "parrot trick."
Later as an older cat living out in the country, he behaved
more like an independent dog, following me around the farm,
and a ways down the dirt road to my mailbox.
He survived animal attacks, being struck by a car, and other
things, using up all nine of his lives.
At one point that cat was a part of my life longer than my own kids.
I get your bittersweet memories of your buddy, OP.