Those names just made my heart nearly burst. Buddy was one of my very first dogs ever and I had him for 11 years before he passed from congestive heart failure and a heart murmur. Leo was my choco pibble, the one I had to put down. Whenever I lose a pet I always think I'll never be able to go through it again but life is just not the same without them. The pain is a steep price but it's worth every second that comes before.
It absolutely is... and what a coincidence with the names!
There are two reasons I haven't gotten another dog, and they're both of equal importance at the moment... the first reason is, service dogs need to be active - boredom is one of the worst things you can subject them to, and depending on the particular service dog, they might actually react *worse* to that than outright abuse... that wasn't true for Buddy, of course, who'd actually *experienced* abuse, but Leo would far rather be in trouble than bored for three seconds - boredom was its own form of torture for him. Since I can't know where on the spectrum a particular dog will fall (and I don't get to pick), I want to be a little more mobile, physically and vehicularly, before I get another dog.
The second reason is, as deep as the bond is with a pet, the bond with a service dog goes even deeper - it has to, when they're helping you get dressed in the morning and they're at your side every minute of every day. I knew I was ready for a "new dog" after Buddy when the thought of a new dog didn't just make me wish I had Buddy back... because in order to be part of a working team, you have to be able to make that dog your *life* for a good three months.... everything revolves around the dog. You eat when the dog eats, sleep when the dog sleeps, and spend every waking moment with them, in order to form that bond that you'll both need in order to trust each other... the human, to trust the dog not to bolt if they drop the leash, devour someone else's food, pick a fight with another dog, whatever... and the dog, to trust the human not to give them a command that would put them in any danger. Once you've put in that three months, it's all gravy... but it's a tough three months (the dog is usually missing the trainer they previously bonded with, and you're missing the ability to go to the bathroom without a furry version of a toddler standing in the doorway asking if you're done yet), and you can't do it emotionally unless you're a hundred percent committed to the *new* dog and his her own personal quirks... and I'm not quite there yet... I'd still be wanting/expecting the new guy to be like one of the old guys, and that's not any fairer to the dog than bringing them into a situation where they'd be bored half the day.
But it's getting better, slowly, and I do miss having a dog around. This is the longest I've ever been without one in my life, and it's genuinely weird. (We have a grumpy 20 year old Siamese who still misses both her "brothers" - every month or so she'll yell at me till I take their collars down and let her nuzzle them. *Not* that she would ever admit this to a new dog, or to the old ones if she could... she refused to come anywhere near me for weeks after the first time I brought Leo home, because I had *tricked* her... that was not *her* dog... and I'm sure next time around will be the same.

She'll be around for a while yet... Saimese are notoriously long-lived. Unfortunately, ours is also a typically standoffish Siamese, so two shall be the number of the petting, and the number of pets shall be two. Excepting when it is in fact one, not forgetting the times when it shall be exactly three. She plays by cat rules.
It sounds like your Leo and my Leo would have gotten on well.
No massive hands for me, I don't see it possible for me to conceal the ego twist with the PTII mini even. It's far too long. A sleeve, I suppose? I haven't needed to be stealthy. I'm relatively nicotine free when not at home. Though today was my first day of working since my setup arrived and I did miss not having it there, so, may need to rethink that
I've got fairly small hands too, and I usually use an 808 battery for occasional stealth vaping... problem with that is, you have to use an adapter to make your non-808 gear compatible, which increases the length. An 808 battery and an 808 threaded minitank is very stashable though, if you don't mind going that route. I'm also looking at possibly getting a teeny tiny ego - 350mah I think it is, fits on a keychain - for emergency stealth vaping with a 510/ego tank. I'm in no great rush though, since I don't need to stealth vape that often.
id say animals CAN be more enjoyable than humans because they dont have a voicebox.
Nobody told my cat that, or my second dog... the cat has an entire lexicon and can (and will... oh dear god *will* she, whether you want her to or not!) hold entire conversations... and Leo thought he *was* a cat, so he had all kinds of weird noises that were actually efforts to meow/purr. Rarely barked unless I told him to, but was rarely quiet either... new people would ask, "why is he growling at me?" Me: "Huh? Oh, no, he's not growling, he's purring/hungry/wants to play/wants to show you something/is begging for ice." You'd think they would at least not be able to *argue*, but Leo and Cushla both did/do.
