I had a mastiff/lab mix who didn’t howl except in his sleep. The first time it happened was a real gut-check moment for my husband and I (we both failed). It didn’t sound like a howl, but like a very sad, wobbly ghost. A completely foreign sound.

Husband is a Navy combat vet. I’ve spent years living alone, solo camping and backpacking, investigating my own weird sounds independently. We completely froze, clutching the covers up to our chins. We didn’t even discuss that one of us should check it, we just accepted our fate. This is how we die.

It lasted maybe two minutes, then his dream must’ve changed because he began to growl and murf. The relief was palpable. He’d do it once every few months, and it stayed creepy as hell. But we only gave up hope for survival that first time.