The Missing Woof

I remember back when Ketzl was a pretty young puppy, we always used to wonder if she had a bark at all. She never felt the need to let out a full “Woof!”, and pretty considerately used what we termed “mini-woofs” to get our attention (which involved blowing out her cheeks a bit and vocalizing just enough for us to hear — almost like a whisper, if dogs could do that). It took an annoying lab, constantly trying to mount her one day, for us to hear the full power of her real bark. And, when it came — wow. Deep, resonant… loud. And now, it’s gone — replaced with a strange, strangled-sounding two-tone “woo-woof!” I suppose I should have expected it, given that Degenerative Myelopathy moves forward and affects muscles along the way, but somehow I didn’t think it’d take her voice, too.