Absolutely there's something about boy dogs!!! Maybe it's their goofy nature or the way they wait at the gate all day for you, whilst the girl runs around doing doggy stuff. One day I crept in to find both boys asleep, pressed against the gate, waiting for mummy, whilst the girl was in the garden playing.
Boy dogs certainly do have a special sort of mind control over us. I don't think we ever get over the loss of ones so dear to us.
Give your two beautiful labs a big cuddle - they will understand.