"So it's up to you. Nilla is a dog and doesn't get a vote here. But she's an exceptional sweetie, a completely different person than she was as a man. She's happy to reject that, and by the way, dogs can't lie about their emotions--they're not like humans."
"So she can communicate?"
"Yes, using a kind of keyboard we can lay out on the floor. She'll lose that ability, though, as her mind adapts more to being a dog. Nilla will always be an exceptionally smart dog, even for an Appenzeller, but she'll lose more of her human qualities as time goes by, including her memories of being Michael."
"I guess that's probably for the best. OK then, it would be nice to have a playmate for Cookie."