I feel for you, my MIL just passed, and I'm without my wife for a couple more weeks. I get pretty lost without her, and makes me realize how much she does around the house, cooking, cleaning, washing our clothes...it's easy to take those things for granted. My wife had just got to see her mom, and had just flown back home...only a couple weeks later she passed and my wife is back there again...
Hope your wife bounces back and is taking care of those animals, as well as you, soon!