The Ultimate Fear

Over the last week, Lola became more scared than usual. Sure, Lola was always a complete chicken, but now she was scared to even sit in the family room any longer and I would constantly find her either in the kitchen all alone or in the cat's small room, sitting with him.

You know somethings wrong when this
creep seems like a suitable roommate.

We weren't sure what was bugging Lola so much. We realized there had to be something in the family room that was getting to her, but we had no idea what it could possibly be. Her world was crumbling around her and we were merely insensitive jerks, clueless to the cause of her endless pain. 

This is what it looks like when a giant dog fearfully
 tries to cram herself into a room meant for a cat

We pondered and pondered what could have possibly had this effect on her, but couldn't seem to figure it out. All the while, her growing fear spread over a week, showing no signs of going away. By the end of the week we finally learned what the problem was, and she's now slowly been re-adapting to her old habitat in our family room... but before merely explaining what scared her so greatly, I'd like to take a step back and consider things from her point of view.

Last week was my brother's birthday, and over the weekend we had a surprise dinner party out for him one night. Obviously, as any individual could tell you, this meant to Lola that we had ditched yet again for the night to go out, but the true problems were so much larger than that. 

While enjoying our time at the party, my brother got a number of fun gifts, and some family friends even brought some balloons to add to the festive atmosphere of the party. When the night was done, we decided to take some of the balloons home, as our friends had certainly put together a very nice collection of sorts. When we got back home, we put the balloons in the front room, right by the family room, and went to say hello to our dogs, like always. Lola, like always, was happy to see us after having probably scared herself into thinking we had left her forever. She was happy enough, in fact, that we never would have realized that this very moment was when her intense fear began. As Lola cheerfully licked us all hello, her eyes set sight on the balloons which now resided in the next room over. Lola, in her abstract dog mentality, quickly recognized said balloons for exactly what they were. She immediately noticed that her old worst enemy, plastic bags, had somehow now obtained the ability to levitate... and this horrified her. Lola stared at the balloons, unsure what to do about this terrifying new revelation, while the balloons merely floated in place, smugly mocking her fear.

Look at those smug motherfuckers

Lola had known fear before, but she had never known fear like this. No matter how hard she fearfully glared, at the balloons, they stood their ground. They may have wavered some in the natural breeze, but they showed no sympathy or remorse. Lola knew that the house wasn't big enough for the both of them, and was determined that either her or the balloons would have to go, but she couldn't find the determination to stand up to the balloons and their ruthless bullying. She wanted to find that determination, truly she did, but when she stared at the cold, lifeless surface of those balloons, she was instilled with such fear that she would physically shake.

It was only once we realized that, perhaps, there was a connection between the balloons and Lola's fear that we moved said balloons to another room where she wouldn't be able to see them.

And thus, Lola felt she could stand tall in knowing that this was a battle that she had won. She knew she could now rest peacefully.

Still, however, every once in a while Lola shakes walking into the room as she fearfully scans it, considering the possibility that her old nemesis could return.