What a lovely way to remember your friend :) I love Malamutes, would have probably had a few if I didn't have a bunch of kids instead LOL.
I know how you felt/feel though, I had to say good-bye to my two Great pyrenese babies after 11 years. And not even because of old age, but because they were both poisoned shortly after each other, by a mental neighbor who didn't (want to) understand the kind of dogs they were. I miss them every day.
I still have two of the grandchildren of one of them (unfortunately, the neighbor didn't just stop at those two...he ended up killing 4 in total, possibly 5, of our dogs...needless to say: we moved) and when they look at me sometimes, with the same dumb look in their face as their ancestors, I feel those tears running again.

Thankfully that city is full of complete idiots and bad decision makers...

Yup...lots of those in Vegas. That made me laugh though.