When is a Dog not a Dog?

Recently, I took Ray to the doctor's for an exploratory look down his throat.  I have been worried, you see, because Ray is losing his voice. The once powerful doghorn has lost its ability to guide ships through the night and has been reduced to the feeble output of an ordinary dog.

I admit that for awhile Gregg and I were enjoying the relative quiet. I thought that perhaps it was just a temporary thing and that his voice would return in a week or two. But after a month, I started to worry. I took him to the vet and was told that in order to see if there was anything seriously wrong, they would have to knock Ray out, move his tongue aside, and look down his throat. I took Ray home again and thought about it for another week or two, waiting to see if his voice would get any stronger. But Ray's voice just became weaker.

So Ray went in for a sound-check. The vet found nothing wrong. Ray is fine. He's just a bit quieter than he used to be. We are trying very hard to feel bad about it.

(Answer to above - When he's a little hoarse)

Well, this end looks ok.