From a New York Times guest essay by Margaret Renkl headlined “Your Pandemic Puppy Was Not a Mistake”

NASHVILLE — It was a Saturday night, close to midnight, when the weird little cough erupting from our dog Rascal’s mouth stopped being a cough and turned into dramatic hacking. My husband and I looked at each other.

“Should we take him in?” I said.

“I don’t think so,” he said.