Aww - yes it is a labrador thing - when my dad had a labrador (all his) - they'd spend hours in the backyard in comfortable silence - not sure if it was a guy thing (the bonding) or whether they were just in tune with each other than no words needed to be said - and I know that the labrador comforted my father through some difficult times by just being there .....

I always wanted to ask how Jewels was doing- but hesitated...glad to hear she's hanging in there!