My 1.5yo husky is very habitual. Every morning after breakfast, she takes the same toy to the living room by herself and cries and howls for a little while. It sounds so sad, but I can't tell if she really is feeling emotional or if it's simply a strange husky thing. She usually stops if anyone walks in on her during her cry. The toy she always brings is one that belonged to my previous dog, who died when my husky was almost 3 months old.  She has been gentle with his toy, which is atypical for her.   Could she possibly be crying for him 16 months later? Or could it have started as crying for him and morphed into a routine?  

It's worth noting that she copies my behavior in many ways and I obviously cried after the other dog died.

She could very well still be missing the other dog.
My dogs have always shown indications of missing previous companions, sometimes for years. I've had dogs that can be very playful and fun, full of energy, but if you suddenly bring out a toy that they relate to their previous companion, they'll suddenly get very sad, and just want to cuddle for a bit. I know humans tend to project their own emotions onto animals, but I honestly believe that dogs can remember things for years, and retain the emotional impacts of things just like humans can.

My oldest dog lost his companion a couple of years ago. He never had a problem around our pet carriers prior to the other dog dying. Now though, if he's in the garage and he sees the pet carriers, he'll go over and look into the other dog's carrier. If it's open, he'll go in, lay down for a bit, before slowly walking away. This is a showing of true emotion. He misses his friend.

It could also simply be a learned behavior too. It's hard to tell with animals as they can't tell us how they are feeling. The dog that died was very territorial, and he didn't like my current older dog to enter the kennel after him. He'd growl at him, and even start a fight occasionally...so Sam learned to go into the kennel first. If the other dog beat him, Sam would be very hesitant to enter the kennel as he knew it could upset the other dog.
Sam continues this behavior with our new puppy. The puppy worships the ground Sam walks on, and would never do anything to provoke his ire, yet if the puppy goes in first, Sam will be very reluctant to enter. This is a learned behavior that is no longer necessary.

Dogs, much like people, can be affected by their own emotion. If you are constantly sad, your health suffers. If you force yourself to smile though, it releases endorphins and makes you feel better and can lead to an all around better day. Sam really started to slow down after his companion passed away. We thought it was due to his age. He didn't run as fast, he didn't play as much, he didn't play with toys, he just sat around and relaxed. When we got a new puppy, we were worried about how that energy level might conflict with Sam's more relaxed lifestyle. Sam changed overnight. He suddenly became much more energetic. He runs, he plays, he gets excited about walks again. He was depressed and lonely, it had changed his personality. Now we have a 10 year old dog with the same energy level as our 8 month old puppy.
People also deal with sadness in healthier ways and feel better about situations if others comfort them during times of sadness. But it's not a negative thing to experience loss and sadness either as long as it's not overwhelming.
You may want to try interfering with the routine a bit. Sit down next to her, pet and cuddle with her to show you care. It may make her feel better and allow her to get past her emotional distress quicker and easier. You could also try playing with her a bit during this time. If it's just habitual, interrupting this behavior with more positive behavior may get her to stop. If after breakfast time is fun play time, she may stop the crying.

I totally agree with Dave. My husky girl lost her cat companion in March 2015 and her husky BFF in September 2015, and if I say kitty she cries and carries on and looks for the cat. If she sees a red truck (her BFF's owners had a red pick up) she will walk in that direction and cry. So indeed she could be sad and misses her buddy. I did end up getting a puppy, and she is much happier, but I still can't say kitty and she still cries over red trucks.

I do want to mention, the only other thing it could be, is if she is not spayed, if she is not it could be a sign of false pregnancy. So is she spayed and has this crying thing a new behavior, say within the last month?

I read this a few days ago and honestly, it made ME sad. I like Dave and Renee's posts but I'm wondering if there is more to this. Your previous dog passed away when your husky was only 3 months old...I'm assuming you got your puppy at about 8 weeks old (?) that only leaves about a month that your husky actually knew your previous dog. Now she is 1 1/2 years old and she's still missing a dog she only knew for about a month, over a year later. ..not saying that it's not possible at all, but like, it makes me think there is more to this. Have you tried putting that toy away where she can't get to it? See if it still happens? What was there routine like when they were together for that month, did they both eat breakfast and then go play together or something. Again, I'm not saying it's not possible your two bonded together so tight in that short period they were together, because I'm sure they did have a bond...but if this has become a habitual type of thing, then maybe that toy really should be put away because I don't think it's something that is very healthy for your pup/or something you would want her doing for the rest of her life (?)