I'm currently sick, so my ears have been clogging up 'n stuff, and my house is, like, 4,000 ft above sea level (my school is closer to sea level, so the drive up to my house is really painful because of the elevation changing).
So basically, I've been in immense pain because of my right ear. It has gone away though (thankfully).
I thought about that, but considering the fact that Blazer is a b---- and gave the cat and Clem over to the sentinels, my brain kinda went "hey, that doesn't seem right".
But hey, maybe that's what happened, it's never specified in the game. I'm just pondering over it.
Also, off-topic, but the companions have a breathing animation.