Lola Goes Blind

When Lolabelle got old, she went blind. She wouldn't move. She froze in place. The only place she would run was on the edge of the ocean. Because she knew there would be nothing to run into there. So, she went running, full speed into total darkness

Around this time, her trainer Elizabeth decided to teach Lolabelle to paint. And so Lolabelle began making several paintings every day. Bright red abstract works. She would scratch on these plastic sheets, using static electricity. She also made small sculptures by pressing her paw into lumps of plasticine. She made a huge number of these things and I didn't really know what to do with them. So, I thought maybe they could be snack trays, or little clogs like the ones Japanese dogs might wear, in the rain. Y'know, I could sell them on the website

Hey!

Hey!

Hey!

(Hey!) Lolabelle sat in the studio with me through lots of different record projects. (Hey!) Rat terriers have really good hearing. Especially in the upper registers. (Hey!) And they never seem to get bored. (Hey!) "Hey, let's listen to that cello track for the 70th time." (Hey!) "Great idea, let's do that. (Hey!)

Some trainers say that in order to understand your breed, you have to imagine what their voices would sound like, and what they'd say to you when you give them a command. So, give a command to a German Shepherd and he'd say 'Right Boss. No problem – consider it done." Give a command to a poodle, and it's "Please love me. I'll do anything if you just love me." But, give a command to a terrier and they say "Um, is it gonna be fun? Because, if it's not gonna be fun, I'm just not interested."