Bleu and Lola

Lola and Bleu met in 2005 and started living together in the spring of 2006. At first Lola was not too enamored with the much too aggressive Bleu, but after only a couple of months they grew inseparable and formed a bond that I don't think people can understand. They had their own way of doing things, everything was a structured ritual without words, just looks and movements that cued the next in a sequence of events.

Lola was the mastermind and Bleu did all the leg work.

Bleu became Lola's bodyguard of sorts. He would never leave her side. She took off running one day and was heading towards the busy intersection of 31st and Harvard. Bleu was right by her side, I have no doubt that whatever might have happened, had we not caught them first, Bleu would have taken the brunt of it and Lola would've been safe.

Our rental house that we first lived in was broken into and robbed in the summer of 2007. Bleu was obviously beaten with an outside Tiki Torch by whoever broke in. The robbers came in through the back and left the back door and gate open when they left. We found out about the robbery when Rachel received a call on her cell phone that morning reporting a lost dog, it was Lola. There was another dog with her but the people couldn't catch it, it was Bleu. Bleu never ran off from the people just kept an eye on them from a safe distance. They were found a couple of streets over in between two houses together. Even after being beaten Bleu made sure Lola was safe and never took his eyes off her.

On another occasion, I was mowing the yard one day and left the gate open. Being extremely lazy I took a break inside for AC and a cold drink. Bleu normally would wine at the door, maybe bump into it a couple of times before giving up. This time however he was going bananas and throwing his whole body into the door. I came out to get on to him, but realized Lola wasn't around. I then saw the gate was open. Bleu was once again looking out for his sister. She was found a couple of corners down the street.

Here's a picture where they are actually cuddling. You can See Lola's paws wrapped Bleu's face.

As close as they were, they were complete opposites. Bleu was crazy, hyper and was always looking for a good straight away to run as hard as he could through. Lola was lazy, not as playful and absurdly cat-like. After a few months together they agreed on a happy medium. Lola would allow Bleu several stints of activity and playfulness throughout the day and Bleu would agree to back off and take more naps to satisfy her. Whenever one was bored they would simply go get a buddy and stick it in the other's face this would lead to a good time tug-o-war.

Lola is having a little trouble with the recent absence of her brother. One of their odd rituals was treat time. Treat time was anytime I walked past the hallway closet, Bleu would find a way to inform me that the treats were stashed there and I would get 2 out. Bleu would take his and run to the TV room and quickly engulf it. Lola would take hers to our bedroom and look at it awhile, then come out to the kitchen table and lay underneath it until Bleu would finish his and come looking for hers. She would then run in front of our large window looking into the front yard. This was her way of making Bleu jealous and keeping his attention. Yesterday we realized we hadn't given her a treat and so he gave her one. She stood there for awhile and walked around the house for several minutes and ended up put her treat in Bleu's basket where he slept, the last two nights she has slept right in front of his basket. I gave her a treat this afternoon and retreated to the couch. I heard her prancing around for at least 10 minutes and finally went to find her when she let out a moan. She finally ate it when I set by her and watched. I have no idea how to comfort her and I have no idea what she's going through. I can imagine its a lot like what Rachel and I are going through, but like I said earlier people probably can't understand their bond.

The last two days Lola has starred out the car window more, glanced at the doors more and walked around the back yard differently. She used to lay on the deck or in the sun, now she just roams around, ducking under the deck from time to time where Bleu used to hide. Also, everytime she goes to sleep she seems restless during it. I'm sure its because Bleu is pestering her for some playtime in her dreams.